Publication Awarded

Lampire Biological Laboratories, Inc., is pleased to announce that a publication entitled Inter-laboratory assessment of a harmonized zebrafish developmental toxicology assay – progress report on phase I was recently awarded the “Best Manuscript in Reproductive Toxicology, 2012” by the Officers of the European Teratology Society. This publication came as a result of Lampire’s participation in a multi-pharma consortium whose goal is to develop a harmonized zebrafish developmental toxicity assay, and included Senior Toxicologist Dr. Jedd Hillegass as one of its authors. In recognition of this achievement, the European Teratology Society invited a fellow member of the consortium to present this work at the Elsevier Reproductive Toxicology Publication Award Lecture during the 2013 meeting in Stresa, Italy.

Please feel free to contact Lampire to see how our zebrafish embryo culture (ZEC) screening service can assist you in determining the teratogenic liability of your compound of interest. If you would like more information, please contact our Senior Toxicologist, Dr. Jedd Hillegass (jhillegass@lampire.com; 215-766-4901). This assay, along with our rat whole embryo culture (rWEC) assay, are just two examples of the continuing Lampire initiative to provide cost effective in vitro teratogenicity screening assays that conform to the principle of reducing, refining, and replacing animals used in research.

American Cancer Society – Relay for Life

by Team Captain: Ben Swope

Team Lampire participated in the American Cancer Society – Relay for Life in Bedford, PA on Saturday, June 29, 2013. The walk will took place at Friendship Village Campground, 348 Friendship Village Road, Bedford PA, 15522. Starting at 9:00am, 12 members of Team Lampire hit the track for a fantastic effort to help raise funds to defeat cancer!

The next 24 hours saw a true team effort to ensure we succeeded. Along the way, new friendships were made with other Relay For Life teams, as we all walked the track with thoughts of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and more who have been effected by this disease. Great conversation took place as many of our new friends inquired about Lampire and were ecstatic to hear about the products and services we offer to help the world. Lampire President Gregory F. Krug stated, “I would like to express my sincere thanks to all Relay for Life participants. I am so very proud of the commitment and support provided to this wonderful cause. It was a great team effort which translates from the track directly to our work on our farms and in our labs.”

Team Lampire is registered and can be found on the ACS website at Team Lampire. Team Captain Ben Swope, has set a goal of raising $1,000 and we are almost there! We are looking to blow that number out of the water! If you would like to donate to this cause, you can still go to the Team Lampire ACS Relay for Life webpage and place your donation, or contact Ben directly.

Thank you Ben and all of Team Lampire! A huge thank you to everyone for their participation and pledges.

Lampire Making a Difference

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Zebrafish Make a Splash in FDA Research

by FDA Consumer Health Information / U.S. Food and Drug Administartion

A recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Consumer Update was written describing the use of zebrafish as a model for predictive toxicology.
Click to read the Consumer Update

Researchers at the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) are utilizing zebrafish in a number of different projects, including investigating the biological effects of copper nanoparticles, and examining the potential of drugs to cause endocrine disruption. After reviewing the article, please feel free to contact Lampire to see how our zebrafish embryo culture (ZEC) screening service can assist you in determining the teratogenic liability of your compound of interest. This assay, along with our rat whole embryo culture (rWEC) assay, are just two examples of the continuing Lampire initiative to provide cost effective in vitro teratogenicity screening assays that conform to the principle of reducing, refining, and replacing animals used in research.

walk MS: Bedford 2013

Team Lampire participated in the MS Walk in Bedford on Sunday, April 21, 2013. The walk took place at 132 State Park Rd, Bedford PA.

Thank you Ben and Team Lampire! A huge thank you to everyone for their participation and pledges. Team Captain Ben Swope reported, as of 4-30-13, Team Lampire achieved their goal of $1000 by raising $1008 to date, and donations can still be made on the Team Lampire page on the MS Website, for the fight to cure MS until June 14th.

Lampire President Gregory F. Krug was quoted “Congratulations on a job well done with the MS Walk! I appreciate everyone’s efforts to make it a success! It’s wonderful to see the team come together in support of this worthy cause.”

Remembering Our Founder

On September 4th, 2012, Craig Cornell Tarler passed away in Valdese, North Carolina.

Craig was the original founder of Lampire and brought Gregory F. Krug on as a partner in the company’s early days. In the late 70s, the company had its start with an idea when another firm approached Craig about buying his horse farm for use as a research farm for the production of defibrinated sheep blood. In addition to being Greg’s business partner, Craig was more importantly, his mentor, friend and confidant. He treated Greg like a son and referred to him as his adopted son. He gave Greg the motivation to succeed and to believe through his words, actions and beliefs. Many nights were spent with his family having lively debates and discussions which were always powerful and lots of fun. He was truly Greg’s prayers answered, and the time spent with him was a very special time in Greg’s life. Lampire has grown astronomically since then, which would not have been possible without Craig. He retired to North Carolina to be with his family and grandchildren while remaining in touch and always there to lend support. Many may remember Craig’s presence and speech during our 25th Anniversary Celebration and Everett Bioprocessing Center Grand Opening in 2007. Craig will be greatly missed. Please join me in sending warm thoughts and prayers to Craig’s family during this difficult time.

In celebration of Craig’s life and memory, June 2nd has been designated here forth, as Lampire Biological Laboratories’ Founder’s Day. Craig was hardworking, dedicated and most of all, a caring man; We know he would consider this a great honor.

Obituary Information
Sossoman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 2608, Morganton, NC 28680
Phone: (828) 437-3211 Fax: (828) 437-8360

MORGANTON – Craig Cornell Tarler, 82, died Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, at the Burke Hospice care facility in Valdese following a brief illness.

Born June 2, 1930, in New York, New York, he was the son of the late Irving Cornell Tarler and Elizabeth Morgan Tarler. Mr. Tarler was a 1952 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. Following his graduation from college, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, serving from 1952 to 1958. His primary duty station was Hokkaido, Japan.

After completing his military service, Mr. Tarler worked in public relations for several major corporations in New York City, where he earned a reputation for honesty, hard work, and fairness. In 1990, he purchased a small pipe tobacco manufacturing company, Amar Blends, and through innovative marketing techniques and sheer force of will transformed it into Cornell & Diehl Inc., one of the premier manufacturers and distributors of hand-blended pipe tobacco in the world. Mr. Tarler was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Morganton, of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and was a former member of the Doylestown, Pennsylvania Lions Club.

Mr. Tarler is survived by his wife of more than 61 years and longtime business partner, Joanne Patricia Diehl Tarler of Morganton; daughter Sally T. Learned and her husband Samuel Learned of Morganton; daughter Pamela T. Hayes and her husband Robert Hayes of Southport; son Christopher C. Tarler of Morganton; granddaughter Caroline Poteat Gandy and her husband Williams Gandy of Boone; and granddaughter Jennifer Leigh Poteat and her fiance Jordan Ellis of Asheville.

A memorial service for Mr. Tarler will be held Saturday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in Morganton with the Revs. Larry Britt and Francis King officiating. The interment of ashes will take place at a later date at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Southport, NC.

In lieu of flowers, the Tarler family requests that friends and family complete an act of kindness or donate to a favorite charity in honor and memory of Craig’s loving and generous spirit.

The family wishes to express their sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the staff of Morganton Internal Medicine, Blue Ridge Healthcare System, and Burke Hospice and Palliative Care for their remarkable skill and compassion.

Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements. Condolences may be made online at www.sossomanfuneralservice.com.

Zebrafish Consortium Update

Lampire is participating in a multi-pharma consortium whose goal is to develop a harmonized zebrafish developmental toxicity assay. A Progress Report on phase I of their efforts has been published in Reproductive Toxicology

Reference:
Gustafson, A.-L., Stedman, D.B., Ball, J., Hillegass, J.M., Flood, A., Zhang, C.X., Panzica-Kelly, J., Cao, J., Coburn, A., Enright, B.P., Tornesi, M.B., Hetheridge, M., and Augustine-Rauch, K.A. Inter-laboratory assessment of a harmonized zebrafish developmental toxicology assay – Progress report on phase I. Reproductive Toxicology 33(2): 155-164.

Abstract:
This report provides a progress update of a consortium effort to develop a harmonized zebrafish developmental toxicity assay. Twenty non-proprietary compounds (10 animal teratogens and 10 animal non-teratogens) were evaluated blinded in 4 laboratories. Zebrafish embryos from pond-derived and cultivated strain wild types were exposed to the test compounds for 5 days and subsequently evaluated for lethality and morphological changes. Each of the testing laboratories achieved similar overall concordance to the animal data (60-70%). Subsequent optimization procedures to improve the overall concordance focused on compound formulation and test concentration adjustments, chorion permeation and number of replicates. These optimized procedures were integrated into a revised protocol and all compounds were retested in one lab using embryos from pond-derived zebrafish and achieved 85% total concordance. To further assess assay performance, a study of additional compounds is currently in progress at two laboratories using embryos from pond-derived and cultivated-strain wild type zebrafish.

Dr. Jedd Hillegass, Ph.D. Presents at BIO 2011

Lampire Senior Toxicologist, Dr. Jedd Hillegass, Ph.D., presented during the BIO 2011 show in Washington, DC, on the topic of:

Incorporating The Zebrafish Embryo Teratogenicity Assay Into The Drug Discovery Process

Abstract: Opportunities exist to incorporate in-vitro developmental toxicology studies early in the drug discovery process as a means to proactively identify teratogenic compounds. One of the most promising assays utilizes zebrafish embryos as a model system given their ex-vivo/rapid development, transparency, and relatively good conservation of embryological processes.

We hope you were able to attend Dr. Hillegass’ presentation as well as visit with our technical staff. If not please feel free to download the presentation below. We are sure you will find it to be both informative and insightful.

China report: Challenges and opportunities

by Pittsburgh Business Times – by Marshall Franklin, VP of Sales, Lampire Biological Laboratories

The technology market, another Chinese revolution.

As China enters the next stage of this revolution, tremendous opportunities for Pennsylvania companies are developing. These opportunities include key industry sectors such as the life, information and environmental science marketplaces. Yet, after spending my first week in Beijing and now Shanghai, it is apparent a couple of key hurdles facing companies looking to develop and expand their market presence and reach in China include:

Learning and understanding the Chinese culture and business practices;
Competition by domestic and international companies supported by aggressive government-funded trade programs
For Lampire Biological Laboratories, the life sciences industry in China presents a great opportunity for continued growth and production. But it also presents challenges that companies must face, particularly if they are in any of the advanced technology industries.

I can’t minimize the imperative of cultural understanding as well as reverence for business practices, which are different than those in North America. What differentiates the relationship building in life sciences is that aggressive governmental policy, which is the equivalent of a mandated policy, very different than in the U.S., is clearly articulated and will result in a convergence of higher skills and increased wages that will change the Chinese marketplace. So the opportunities for American companies will increase as the economics begin to intersect. As we’ve heard during this visit, China is focused no longer on mere quantity, but also quality and optimization.

After a week, here is what I’ve discovered:

The developing technical markets in China are well-funded, well-regulated and focused on producing quality products. When faced with the sheer scale of China, as well as language and culture boundaries, access to the market must be strategic with a long-term commitment and corporate presence. With this, regional technology councils and state-funded agencies provide the means to enter this developing global market.

Lampire Biological Laboratories has earned primary vendor status with pharmaceutical, diagnostic, biotechnology and medical device corporations worldwide. Commitment to quality and customer service has established Lampire as a key resource for clients through the research and development, scale-up and optimization stages of product development and subsequent production. Lampire also serves academia and government research agencies involved in the areas of immunology, cell biology, cell signaling, pathology, molecular biology, microbiology and clinical medicine.

Marshall Franklin is vice president of sales at Lampire Biological Laboratories. He is traveling to China as part of the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s 10-day business trip. The group currently is visiting Shanghai.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/innovation/2011/05/china-report-challenges-opportunities.html

Read more: China report: Challenges and opportunities | Pittsburgh Business Times