Company Information
Advanced Analytical is a privately-held company based in Ames, Iowa, with a primary product line of capillary electrophoresis-based technology that is customized for specific applications. The company holds 19 international patents and has 14 pending applications. Instruments are installed worldwide in industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotech, personal care manufacturing, food and beverage processing, university plant science research, and government laboratories.
In large measure, we are who our customers say we are: If you ask our customers about us, some will talk about our innovative technologies. Others will mention their satisfaction with instrument performance. But nearly all of them will talk about our company's extremely high level of technical service and support after the sale. More than anything else, we stand behind our products.
We were originally founded in 1998. Our first product was based on flow cytometry technology. It was a rapid microbial enumeration and detection system to replace the traditional method of growing microorganisms on agar plates. This product eventually became known as the MicroPRO™. Over the course of 12 years we developed three different generations of this instrument, oftentimes relying on input derived from strategic partnerships we entered into with organizations such as Procter & Gamble, Alberto-Culver, Masterfoods USA (a division of Mars, Inc.) and the Mohawk Valley Water Authority. In early 2011, we sold the worldwide marketing rights for this technology to Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), who now market the product under the name BD FACSMicroCount.
Moving forward, Advanced Analytical will now focus on our growing line of capillary electrophoresis (CE) products. We make dedicated CE instruments for applications, such as:
- Oligonucleotide purity analysis. The OligoPRO™ has been installed for over 10 years at major oligo houses. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days per week at some customer sites.
- Measuring acid dissociation constants in compounds. The pKa PRO™ is currently installed at 7 of the Top 10 pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide.
- Fragment size analysis and quantification of DNA/RNA. The AdvanCE™ FS instruments are installed on four continents and at over 25+ organizations including leading research institutions, plant breeding companies and at US Department of Agriculture headquarters in Beltsville, Maryland.
- With ongoing development of these CE instruments, we have…
- Signed a joint Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)
- Obtained Department of Defense contracts with the US Army to develop instruments for microbial identification
- Signed numerous strategic partnership agreements including one with Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) for the OligoPRO.
- Placed prototype instruments with the Cleveland Clinic, US Army and Iowa State University.
Although we are privately-held, we are located in Iowa State University's research park and maintain close ties to the ISU research community. Our CE instruments are based upon technology originally developed by Dr. Edward Yeung while he was at Iowa State, and he continues to serve on our scientific advisory board.
Because of our growing customer base in Europe, in July, 2010, Advanced Analytical opened a new laboratory and office in Heidelberg, Germany, located in the Technologiepark on the campus of Heidelberg University. This office allows us to achieve faster turnaround times on European orders and service requests. We also perform feasibility studies in Heidelberg's fully functional laboratory. And potential customers are welcome to participate in instrument demonstrations at this Central European location, which is within 500 kilometers of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Paris, Milano, Zurich, Vienna and Prague.
In other parts of the world, we operate with and through distributors. Because of our close and long- term relationships with many of the distributors, we give the same level of support and assistance to large organizations located abroad that we normally provide directly to our US-based customers. Before they are allowed to represent our products, all distributors must first travel to our U.S. headquarters for extensive product training. We provide frequent updates on technical advances and new developments – for both the instruments and lab applications – so that our distributors are well qualified to provide exceptional service and support. And if additional help is needed, our highly trained technical team is available by email or phone, sometimes answering questions directly from customers.
All of our instruments and reagents are manufactured in our own facilities. Currently all instruments are made in the U.S. at our headquarters in Ames, Iowa. We buy critical components from leading optics, camera and electronic manufacturers. Machined parts are fabricated in Iowa by trusted suppliers we've worked with for years, whose reliability has withstood the test of time. After assembly, every instrument goes through a rigorous QC process ensuring proper operational performance. Reagents are also produced under GLP, have gone through rigorous testing condition prior to release, and are tested for optimum performance by highly trained personnel.
Our eyes and ears are always open. Although our technicians, engineers and scientists have decades of cumulative experience…. we don't know everything. By constantly striving to fully understand changing customer needs and requirements, this allows us to keep pace with laboratory trends and develop updated instruments. To that end we strongly welcome feedback and will actively work with customers to design new kits, customize gels, add new features, modify software or even create totally new instruments.