Leica Microsystems Signs Distribution Agreement with French Company

Leica Microsystems (Wetzlar, Germany) and Mauna Kea Technologies (MKT; Paris, France) signed an exclusive distribution agreement for the German high-tech optics company to market the innovative system developed by Mauna Kea Technologies. The two companies are collaborating to improve research and to discover therapies against serious diseases worldwide

Leica Microsystems thus enlarges its product portfolio to include an endoscopic confocal microscope for in-vivo research applications. The agreement covers Europe, North America, and Japan. Cellvizio, as the system is called, will be adopted marketed as Leica FCM1000 (fiber-confocal microscope).

Leica FCM1000 with Cellvizio technology is a fiberoptic confocal fluorescence microscope for dynamic in vivo imaging. Its movable, minimally invasive probe allows it to be introduced non-destructively into the insides of living animals, producing video image sequences at a rate of 12 frames per second. There is a strongly increasing demand for in vivo microscopy, to complement classical in-vitro studies, so this new product is the ideal addition to our portfolio of state of the art confocal microscopes, explained Leica's executive vice president of sales and marketing, David Martyr.

This small animal imaging system is used in pre-clinical research in academic research institutions and biotechnologic and pharmaceutic companies. Primarily conducted on rodents, these experiments play a key role in neurologic research in deep brain and peripheral nerves imaging, especially in the research of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and in cancer, cardiovascular and stem cell research, gene delivery, and tissue engineering.

Sacha Loiseau, president of Mauna Kea Technologies, explained, We are extremely proud of this major agreement between Mauna Kea Technologies and the prestigious company Leica Microsystems. It tangibly recognizes MKT's innovative R&D and leadership in non-invasive cellular and molecular imaging solutions. This achievement is the result of MKT's effort to gather the best team of scientists and engineers to develop new imaging technologies that are perfectly adapted to customer needs. The commercial agreement with Leica Microsystems will make it possible for thousands of researchers worldwide to benefit from the breakthroughs offered by Leica FCM1000 with Cellvizio technology.


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