Copenhagen, Denmark (January 27, 2009). Today Sophion Bioscience A/S announces the opening of a local office in Japan to promote sales and support of Sophion’s products and services in Japan. Sophion, maker of QPatch automated patch clamp systems, provides real-life solutions for ion channel drug discovery and safety pharmacology.

To head the operations in Japan Sophion has hired Dr. Yuji Tsurubuchi. Dr. Tsurubuchi will collaborate with Sophion’s distributor in Japan, Physio-Tech, to offer QPatch systems with the unique specialization of assay development and application knowledge. Dr. Tsurubuchi received his PhD from the University of Tsukuba (Japan) and has become a leading electrophysiologist in Japan’s ion channel industry. Since 2002, Dr. Tsurubuchi has been involved in management of the ion channel group at Drug Safety Testing Company in Japan, a leading contract research organization that specializes in the use of the QPatch for higher throughput safety screening. 

“Yuji Tsurubuchi is well-known and respected throughout the world for expertise in ion channel research and especially related to QPatch applications,” says Frank Henrichsen, V.P. Sales & Marketing at Sophion Bioscience. “Sophion gains a special advantage in Japan with him on the team supporting our Japanese customers.”

“I am glad to have the opportunity to use my experience in the field of ion channel research to manage Sophion-Japan,” says Dr. Tsurubuchi. “I look forward to helping Japanese scientists achieve their greatest potential in the field of ion channel drug discovery and safety testing.”

For more information about the QPatch or Sophion-Japan, please contact Dr. Tsurubuchi directly at yts@sophion.jp or Frank Henrichsen at fhe@sophion.dk.

About Sophion Bioscience

Sophion Bioscience, a leader in the automated patch clamp field, helps drug discovery companies make more and better drugs, faster. Sophion’s sole focus is to provide advanced products and integrated solutions for automated patch clamping. Sophion’s QPatch 16 and QPatch HT (48-channels) provide high-quality patch clamp data on a truly industrial basis on all types of ion channels. Only the QPatch has an integrated cell preparation and QPlate exchange facilities enabling several hours of unattended operation. The unique microfluidic flow channel system implemented in the QPlates enables fast liquid exchange around each cell and provides the option to test multiple com­pounds or increasing concentrations on the same cell. For more information about Sophion, please visit www.sophion.com

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