Affymetrix Completes Strategic Licensing Agreement with Genisphere for Proprietary MicroRNA Reagents
November 17 2011 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Affymetrix®, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) announced today
at the Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP) conference that
they have entered into an exclusive agreement with Genisphere®,
LLC, to offer the company’s proprietary FlashTag™ Biotin HSR
Reagents designed for Affymetrix. The miRNA reagents provide
streamlined, high-fidelity target preparation methods yielding high
quality data and unmatched reproducibility when used with the
Affymetrix GeneChip® Arrays.
Genisphere reagents are compatible across a
wide variety of sample types including formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded (FFPE) fresh frozen samples and blood. This
complete solution provides researchers with faster insight into the
role of miRNAs in biological processes including mRNA degradation,
transcriptional gene silencing, translational repression, and
ultimately in biomarker discovery in translational and cancer
research.
“We have been using Genisphere FlashTag HSR
kits and the Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA Array for the past two
years, and we are exceptionally pleased with the quality of data we
are seeing,” said Twyla Juehne, Research Laboratory Supervisor at
the Washington University School of Medicine, GeneChip Core Lab.
“The broad content of the array and the high specificity, ease of
use, and turnaround time for the assay makes these two technologies
very advantageous in today's extremely competitive market.”
“The workflow for the Genisphere’s FlashTag HSR
solution combines speed with sensitivity to yield a robust miRNA
labeling procedure for studying this novel class of biomarkers,”
said Bob Getts, Vice President of R&D at Genisphere. “Launched
in March 2009, the FlashTag product line has provided a powerful
standardized tool for investigating miRNA expression when coupled
with the GeneChip miRNA Arrays. This licensing agreement
combines the technologies from both companies for the benefit of
our mutual customers.”
Starting with as little as 100 ng of total RNA,
these reagents provide ultrasensitive miRNA labeling in just 45
minutes, with no purification steps required to go from sample to
target for microarray hybridization. When used with the
recently released GeneChip miRNA 2.0 Array, these tools provide
customers with a single validated workflow to better understand the
biology of miRNA molecules from 131 different organisms.
“This strategic alliance with Genisphere really
demonstrates Affymetrix’ commitment to expanding our GeneChip Array
customer base into relevant applications in cancer and related
markets where miRNAs are known to be differentially expressed,”
said Kevin Cannon PhD, General Manager of the Gene Expression
Business Unit at Affymetrix. “The new miRNA reagents designed
specifically for Affymetrix GeneChip Arrays provide researchers
with the best tools to access challenging samples and interrogate
them on the world’s leading microarray platforms. This reagent
addition provides researchers with the tools to move from a
whole-genome view of complex biological systems using the GeneChip
miRNA Arrays to single-gene validation with QuantiGene View miRNA
Assays.”
Affymetrix-branded reagent kits will be
launched in early 2012. Customers should continue to order the
FlashTag™ Biotin HSR Reagents from Genisphere and the GeneChip®
miRNA Arrays from Affymetrix.
About Affymetrix
Affymetrix technology is used by the world's
top pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and biotechnology companies as well
as leading academic, government, and nonprofit research institutes.
More than 2,100 systems have been shipped around the world, and
more than 24,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the
technology. Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, and has
manufacturing facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, and Singapore. The
company has about 900 employees worldwide and maintains sales and
distribution operations across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. For
more information about Affymetrix, please visit
http://www.affymetrix.com.
Forward-looking statements
All statements in this press release that are
not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including
statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs,"
"hopes," "intentions," "strategies," or the like. Such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected.
These and other risk factors are discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010, and other SEC reports for
subsequent quarterly periods.
NOTE: Affymetrix, and the Affymetrix logo, are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Affymetrix, Inc.
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