Under the terms of the three-to-five year agreements, research will begin in early 2008. The assay development research relies on NUI Galway nucleic acid detection technology for both bacterial and fungal targets along with SPRI (solid phase reversible immobilization) and other technologies from Beckman Coulter.
Mike Whelan, group vice president of Beckman Coulter’s high sensitivity testing group, said: “The agreements give us access to intellectual property for the development of tests for infectious diseases including sepsis, hospital-acquired infections, and sexually transmitted diseases, such as Chlamydia and Neisseria.”