BOULDER, Colo. & ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 16, 2001--SomaLogic, a privately held Boulder, Colo.-based proteomics company, announced that it has signed a multi-year collaboration agreement with Celera Genomics (NYSE:CRA - news), an Applera Corporation business. The agreement provides Celera early access to aptamers and aptamer arrays developed through SomaLogic's proprietary SELEX process and provides SomaLogic access to sequencing and proteins for developing aptamers.
SomaLogic's aptamer technology is based on the use of nucleic acids that bind to distinct proteins with great specificity and sensitivity. Assembled in an array format, this approach enables the simultaneous detection of hundreds or thousands of proteins from biological fluids, including proteins associated with certain diseases. The ability of aptamer arrays to link proteins with specific diseases is expected to play a significant role in disease diagnosis and treatment.
``SomaLogic's aptamer technology complements our genomics and proteomics programs by providing a unique approach for identifying expression and function of multiple proteins likely to play a role in major disease,'' said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Celera's president and chief scientific officer. ``This agreement should strengthen our proteomics capability and helps our expansion in drug discovery.''
``SomaLogic is capitalizing on the availability of gene sequence information and aptamer technology to transform research proteomics and clinical diagnostics,'' said Larry Gold, Ph.D., SomaLogic's founder and chief executive officer. ``Celera's comprehensive sequencing capabilities and extensive protein library are key to our strategy. As we build a commercial diagnostics business based on our proprietary aptamer technology, we expect to develop additional collaborations with other companies with expertise in proteomics and protein expression, as well as with providers of platform technologies for our aptamer arrays and systems.''
About SomaLogic
SomaLogic was established in 1999 to advance ten years of aptamer research in the development of proprietary, comprehensive diagnostic tools in the proteomics arena. The specificity of aptamers allows them to distinguish between even closely related proteins, a key advantage for large-scale comprehensive diagnostics and for research proteomics. In addition to the superior specificity and affinity of aptamers, their advantages over current capture agent technologies include direct detection and cost efficiency. The company has worldwide exclusive rights to the aptamer patent estate for use in in vitro diagnostics, including more than 130 U.S. patents and applications.
SomaLogic is revolutionizing research proteomics and clinical diagnostics with its proprietary aptamers, which are identified through the SELEX(TM) process. While existing technologies lack the capabilities that are essential for the comprehensive, high-throughput detection of disease-related proteins, the company's aptamer technology has the necessary specificity, sensitivity, and affinity to detect proteins at low concentrations, providing an extremely reliable and cost-effective protein quantification method for tracking disease processes. Building on its research proteomics foundation, SomaLogic's commercial diagnostics platform will put it at the forefront of the next wave of the proteomics arena -- screening, diagnosis and disease management -- enabling physicians to better diagnose diseases at earlier stages for more effective treatments for patients. The company is headquartered in Boulder, Colo. More information about the company can be found at somalogic.com.
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