Research and Development

Biosite has a research staff dedicated to the development and production of antibodies through a variety of techniques. Recombinant techniques are used to express proteins for use as diagnostic markers. The Company’s staff of chemists and biochemists synthesize drug targets and compounds for diagnostic use and seek to perfect techniques for coupling these compounds to biological reagents such as antibodies or labels. Biosite developed a proprietary process utilizing phage display antibodies, which enables the selection and production of antibodies more rapidly and efficiently than is possible using hybridoma technology.

The Company’s strategy for potential future products, including its current products under development, is to focus its attention on large market opportunities where it can potentially achieve market leadership with novel therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Biosite’s development efforts focus on new marker mining as well as the investigation of new applications for existing markers or combination of existing markers. Biosite gains access to potential markers through internal research, licensing and collaborations. The Company is currently researching many potential disease marker candidates, including ones for stroke, acute coronary syndromes and sepsis, and has established clinical collaborations with at least seven leading medical institutions that provide samples for use in research efforts.