Celera will use Nanogen’s minor groove binder (MGB) technology to develop in vitro diagnostic products for cardiovascular and oncological applications. This is an expansion of the original license agreement, signed in 2004, in which Celera licensed the technology for development of hepatitis C genotyping products for individual patient management, monitoring and treatment.
Under the agreement, Celera will pay Nanogen an upfront license fee, milestone and anniversary fees throughout development, and a royalty on sales of the diagnostic products.
Howard Birnsdorf, CEO of Nanogen, said: “The Celera license expands our current license into new and exciting molecular diagnostic applications. Our MGB technology has been licensed to a number of companies and the expanded field for Celera strongly supports the value of our technology in real-time polymerase chain reaction.”