Nanogen Receives U.S. Army Grant to Develop Biowarfare Detection Systems
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGEN - news) announced today that it has been awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Army to continue development of miniaturized electronic devices for isolating and detecting biological warfare and infectious disease agents from human blood samples. No live microorganisms associated with any biological agents will be analyzed or handled at Nanogen's facilities. The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick, Maryland will supervise the research. This is the second 'Dual Use Science and Technology' grant awarded to Nanogen by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, the first one commencing on October 5, 2000.
``This agreement represents our continued commitment to the advancement of biological warfare defense, namely developing miniaturized electronic systems for rapidly detecting micro-organisms, DNA and protein substances that may be deployed as biological warfare agents,'' said Randy White, Chief Executive Officer of Nanogen. ``Nanogen believes that its unique electronic microarray technology is particularly well suited to these development efforts. Our specific aim is to further develop technologies that will automate and integrate biological sample preparation, amplification and detection on the NanoChip® electronic microarray. In addition, we aim to apply the technologies developed under this grant to Nanogen's primary commercial efforts in molecular diagnostic research and development.''
Nanogen's goal is to be the leading provider of electronic microarray technology with the required accuracy, simplicity and flexibility necessary to bridge the gap between the research and clinical settings. The Company is seeking to establish the NanoChip® System as the standard platform for the detection of genetic mutations and to develop applications for future clinical use. To date, the Company has developed and internally validated a research protocol for the detection of the Factor V Leiden gene mutation associated with cardiovascular disease. Nanogen markets its NanoChip® Molecular Biology Workstation to scientists and genomics laboratories. The NanoChip® System is intended for research use only and not for use in diagnostic procedures. For additional information please visit Nanogen's web site at www.nanogen.com.
The grant DAMD17-01-2-0022 was awarded by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Ft. Detrick, Maryland 21702-5014... |
