Nanogen Expands Partnership with HandyLab for IVD Testing

Nanogen, Inc. (San Diego, CA, USA) has expanded its partnership with HandyLab, Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) with a licensing and supply agreement for use of the company's proprietary Minor Groove Binder (MGB) probe technology and synthetic nucleic acid chemistries, including dyes and quenchers, for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) testing. HandyLab will receive a nonexclusive license to market, sell, and distribute polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits utilizing Nanogen's technology for use on HandyLab's Jaguar System and other HandyLab systems. Terms of the agreement include an upfront license fee and a commitment to supply HandyLab with Nanogen's PCR products.

The licensing agreement marks the expansion of an already established partnership. In 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA) awarded a U.S. $10.4 million, two-year contract to Nanogen for the development of a multianalyte molecular diagnostic assay for Influenza. The Influenza test is being developed for use with the HandyLab microfluidic real-time PCR Raider instrument.

Nanogen's MGB technology is licensed broadly in various fields and is an integral component in thousands of PCR-probe products. The company's products include molecular diagnostic kits and reagents, and kits for rapid point-of-care testing.

HandyLab develops, manufactures, and sells novel molecular diagnostic products based on its microfluidic real-time PCR and nucleic acid extraction technologies. The company's systems reduce the time, complexity, and cost of nucleic acid testing while simultaneously improving the quality of results for infectious disease, genetic, and other molecular diagnostic tests.

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Nanogen, Inc.
HandyLab, Inc.