Genospectra Takes a Commercial License to Affymetrix Bead Patents
Affymetrix, Inc., announced today that Genospectra, Inc. has taken a non-exclusive license to a number of Affymetrix patents related to beads and gene expression analysis. The license is for research use only.
“We are pleased to have gained access to important parts of Affymetrix’ patent portfolio in this area,” said Dr. Frank Witney, President and CEO of Genospectra. “Affymetrix’ work in this field may be synergistic with QuantiGene and QuantiGene-Plex, our proprietary signal amplification products that offer robust and precise RNA quantification directly from cell lysates or tissue homogenates.”
Affymetrix’ expanded genomics technologies licensing program, which was launched in April 2004, makes some of the company’s most recently issued patents, as well as early patents, available for licensing and, in selected areas, for sale to those using and commercializing microarray-centered technologies.
The patents include intellectual property in areas such as DNA and protein arrays, scanner/detector technology, and microfluidics, as well as a broadened portfolio of patents related to the use of beads to measure nucleic acids or peptide binding for genomic analysis.
“We are very pleased that our patents might help Genospectra further expand the catalog of products and services available to those conducting gene expression research,” said Alan Sherr, Director of Licensing for Affymetrix. “We are committed to opening our intellectual property estate to those who are in the forefront of commercializing genome analysis technologies so that science and society can reap the benefits.”
Affymetrix patents are available for licensing to organizations commercializing and using bead technology, designing microarrays, manufacturing or using microarrays, detecting and analyzing signals from microarrays, employing bioinformatics and software to analyze microarrays, and other array-related areas.
Organizations commercializing these technologies, or those desiring to, are invited to contact the Affymetrix Licensing Office at licensing@affymetrix.com , or to consult the Affymetrix licensing web page at http://www.affymetrix.com .
About Affymetrix:
Affymetrix is a pioneer in creating breakthrough tools that are driving the genomic revolution. By applying the principles of semiconductor technology to the life sciences, Affymetrix develops and commercializes systems that enable scientists to improve quality of life. The Company’s customers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrichemical, diagnostics and consumer products companies as well as academic, government and other non-profit research institutes. Affymetrix offers an expanding portfolio of integrated products and services, including its integrated GeneChip(R) brand platform, to address growing markets focused on understanding the relationship between genes and human health. Additional information on Affymetrix can be found at http://www.affymetrix.com .
About Genospectra:
Genospectra, Inc. is a privately-held life science company developing technologies and products for Parallel Quantitative Biology (PQB). Genospectra’s PQB initiative is focused on creating novel cell-based assays and tools that enable multiplex measurements of molecular events, such as intracellular pathway analysis, in a quantitative and scalable manner. Genospectra’s first product line, the QuantiGene Reagent System was launched in 2003, and is powered by the FDA approved and proprietary branched DNA technology for gene expression analysis in cell-based assays. This novel technology is important to accurately quantitate RNA levels for up to 30 different genes without the need for RNA purification. Our QuantiGene and QuantiGene-Plex customers perform microarray validation, biomarker analysis, RNA interference and predictive toxicology, and can measure RNA levels directly from archived paraffin-fixed tissues. The company’s products are targeted to research cellular pathways, to dissect molecular models of human disease, and to discover the next generation of medicines. Genospectra is based in Fremont, California. For additional information, please visit http://www.genospectra.com .
