Affymetrix sues Synteni, Incyte over patent
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this may be of interest,
Angelo
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at: biz.yahoo.com
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan 6 (Reuters) - Affymetrix Inc (Nasdaq:AFFX - news) said Tuesday it was suing Synteni Inc and Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:INCY - news) for alleged infringement of an Affymetrix patent involving its GeneChip technology.
In a statement, Affymetrix said the patent at issue, U.S. Patent No. 5,445,934, is part of its more than 25 issued U.S. patents and more than 70 pending applications which cover various aspects of its GeneChip technology.
Its GeneChip system consists of disposable DNA probe arrays containing gene sequences on a chip, reagents for use with the probe arrays, a scanner and other instruments to process the probe arrays and software to analyse and manage genetic information.
Synteni and Incyte could not be reached for comment.
The patent which was allegedly infringed covers arrays of 1,000 or more different pieces of DNA in a square centimetre of area.
Affymetrix said it filed the suit with the federal district court in Delaware.
Palo Alto, California-based Incyte is named in the suit as it recently agreed to acquire Synteni and announced its intention to commercialise Synteni's spotted DNA arrays for monitoring of gene expression, Affymetrix said.
''Affymetrix and Incyte have been both good partners and good competitors for some time now, and we remain hopeful that we will reach an agreement with Incyte that provides fair compensation to Affymetrix for the use of our intellectual property,'' said Stephen P.A. Fodor, Affymetrix' president and chief executive officer.
Fremont, California-based Synteni makes technology for analysing large numbers of genes in a single experiment. Incyte makes databases of all the latest research into the human genome.
Affymetrix said that gene expression monitoring is one of three major areas of application of its GeneChip technology. It has a program to license its technology for use in making low to medium density spotted arrays for expression monitoring and has one such licence with Molecular Dynamics (Nasdaq:MDYN - news).
It currently has a joint venture with Incyte to commercialise five licence Affymetrix arrays in the expression monitoring field.
Affymetrix said it intends to make its GeneChip system the ''platform of choice'' for acquiring, analysing and managing complex genetic information in order to improve the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of disease. |
