Under a two year contract, Thermo will supply customized Cytomat® 6001 Incubation Platforms for integration with Genomic Profiling Systems' Growth Direct™ automated rapid microbiological detection system for the pharmaceutical manufacturing environment. The Cytomat platform will provide automated culture plate incubation to complete the integrated Growth Direct System which significantly reduces incubation time - the foremost limitation of traditional culture-based tests used in the microbiological testing of pharmaceuticals.

The Cytomat 6001 - one of a range of 28 Cytomat incubators - provides a precisely-controlled, automated incubation environment with a single access point that can easily be configured to integrate with any automated assay system.

The automated Growth Direct System uses digital imaging to accelerate testing. The system enumerates organisms grown in culture days to weeks earlier than feasible by the human eye. A non-destructive system, Growth Direct permits retention of organisms for required identification, differentiating it from available rapid microbiology systems.