Wageningen, 2 January 2006 – Noldus Information Technology today announced that it has entered into a technology development agreement with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development. The agreement entails the joint development of novel tools to automate phenotyping of behaviors in preclinical drug discovery programs. Neuroscientists at J&JPRD’s pharmacological research laboratories in Beerse, Belgium, will take part in specifying and validating new software and instruments developed by Noldus.

Discovering a successful new drug among thousands of candidate compounds requires sensitive behavioral research tools with a maximum throughput. Advances in behavioral testing are made possible by novel research instruments based on breakthroughs in digital image processing and the integration of behavioral and physiological data. Dr Pim Drinkenburg, head of J&JPRD Biomonitoring Research and Early Development, Europe, comments “We pursue an integrative biomonitoring approach in the development and validation of novel animal models for psychiatric diseases. We need high-quality, automated acquisition and analysis tools for efficient use of such complex integrative models. The availability of such validated models for psychiatric diseases is especially important for discovering new drug targets with novel mechanisms of action, i.e., a new generation of drugs. The collaboration with Noldus will contribute significantly to these endeavors.”

Managing director Dr Lucas Noldus comments “We are happy to be working with J&JPRD, a company with a long-standing interest in methodological and technical innovation of laboratory instrumentation. The further development of our EthoVision and PhenoTyper product lines will benefit greatly from the ethopharmacological expertise in an industrial context of Dr Pim Drinkenburg, Dr Thomas Steckler and their coworkers at J&JPRD. We are looking forward to a productive partnership.”

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development is part of the worldwide pharmaceutical research organization of Johnson & Johnson. Its European headquarters are located in Beerse, Belgium.

Noldus Information Technology, founded in 1989, is a leading developer of software and integrated solutions for behavioral research. More than 3500 companies, governmental organizations and universities in over 75 countries use Noldus products to enhance the quality and throughput of behavioral measurements. Noldus’ advanced data collection and analysis tools allow a refinement of laboratory animal tests, as well as an increase of the amount of information gathered per test animal. Noldus’ client list includes leading pharmaceutical companies and neuroscience institutes. The company operates from offices across Europe and the United States, and a global network of qualified distributors.

Press contact:
Noldus Information Technology BV
Attn: René Bourgonje
P.O. Box 268 6700 AG Wageningen
The Netherlands
Phone: +31-317-473300
Fax: +31-317-424496
Email: r.bourgonje@noldus.nl