Celera Licenses Genetic-Analysis Products for Diagnostic Development

Perlegen Sciences (Mountain View, CA, USA) and Celera (Alameda, CA, USA) have entered into a nonexclusive license agreement focused on methods of genetic analysis central to creating diagnostic products. The agreement grants Celera use of Perlegen intellectual property as well as use of Perlegen's specific predictive genetic markers on chromosome 9p21 for coronary heart disease, to be included in products marketed by Celera. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Perlegen's genetic-analysis intellectual property covers the combination of multiloci markers to create diagnostic products for determining an individual's predisposition to multifactorial disease or for ascertaining an appropriate course of treatment. It should allow Celera to detect genetic markers for multifactorial traits and tightly linked haplotype blocks, facilitate optimal matching of patient cases and controls, and provide methods for managing the massive data sets that accompany these analyses.

"We believe access to these highly replicated markers, which complement our internal proprietary genetic discoveries in cardiovascular disease such as KIF6 and LPA, furthers Celera's commitment to be a leading provider of genetic tests used routinely in personalizing disease management," said Kathy Ordonez, CEO of Celera. "These markers are expected to enhance our focus on cardiovascular disease while expanding our menu into diabetes and metabolic syndrome. We believe the additional pharmacogenomic aspects of these markers allow us the potential to personalize disease management that may further improve patient compliance with treatments for cardiovascular disease and diabetes."

Perlegen's objective is to discover and commercialize genetic variations that can make a difference to patients and physicians. The company's expertise is in understanding human genetic variation within and across diverse patient populations and in conducting studies aimed at identifying those variations that are predictive of drug response, including both toxicity and efficacy. The company's lead product, the MammaPLUS breast cancer risk stratifier, scheduled for launch in the second half of 2009, is a novel diagnostic test containing all of the currently validated and replicated common genetic variations associated with an increased risk for breast cancer.

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