Bruker Announces Partnership with GRAST at Chungnam National University in Korea to Develop Glycomics Reference Site

Bruker Corporation and the Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology (GRAST) at Chungnam National University have announced a collaboration to advance the field of Glycomics and its applications in the rapidly growing biopharmaceutical industry in the Republic of Korea. This collaboration adds to the growing number of partnerships and industry linkage projects which Bruker has fostered with the scientific communities of Asia Pacific.

Bruker ultrafleXtreme™ MALDI-TOF/TOF Mass Spectrometer (Photo: Business Wire)

Under the collaboration agreement, the GRAST team, led by Professor Hyun Joo An, and the Glycomics Applications Development Group at Bruker, led by Dr Detlev Suckau will jointly develop MALDI-TOF(/TOF) based methodologies targeting the analysis of glycans. These studies will create a better understanding of the function of glycans in biomolecules, and their key role in many biological processes. The partners will target much of their efforts towards the development of specific methods and software applications that can be utilized in the development and quality control (QC) of biosimilar pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic antibodies. In conjunction with industrial partners in Korea and the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) - already a key Bruker collaborator and the operator of the region’s highest field 15 Tesla MALDI/ESI- FTMS system - the partnership will act as an Asia Glycomics Reference Site (AGRS) and offer broader analytical support to the wider Asian Glycomics community.

“My team at GRAST is delighted to be able to partner with Bruker to develop our MALDI-TOF and other analytical approaches to advance the field of Glycomics in Korea,” stated Professor Hyun Joo An. “The potential we see, particularly for the biosimilar industry, indicates that glycan research will continue to increase in importance, particularly as workflows develop to unravel its complexities.”

“We are proud to announce this collaboration with Bruker, and will work closely together with them to develop cutting-edge methodologies for Glycomics research,” added Dr. Kwang Hwa Chung, Dean of GRAST at Chungnam National University.

“Development of meaningful and result-driven partnerships with premier research teams in Asia Pacific has been a focus for Bruker in recent years,” commented Clive Seymour, Bruker Daltonics Executive Vice President for the Asia Pacific Region. “Our technologies and workflows offer enormous potential to advance the developing fields in Glycomics and particularly in its applications in the biopharmaceutical area. Under the direction of Professor An and her team at GRAST, we are confident the outcomes of this partnership will help drive a rapidly growing research field in Korea and beyond.”

About GRAST

GRAST is jointly established by Chungnam National University (CNU) and Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), in an effort to bring out the synergistic efforts in both education and research. GRAST is the only graduate school in Korea structured in this fashion. The curriculum offered at GRAST covers theory, principles and the applications of analytical technologies in the fields of NT (nanoscience technology), BT (bioscience technology), ET (Environmental Science and Technology), and many other fusion fields of study.

About Bruker Corporation

Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR) is a leading provider of high-performance scientific instruments and solutions for molecular and materials research, as well as for industrial, clinical and applied analysis . For more information on Bruker MALDI-TOF systems and Bruker Daltonics, please visit www.bdal.com. For information about Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR), please visit www.bruker.com.

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