>>BOTHELL, Wash., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Epoch Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBIO - news), a provider of proprietary products that accelerate genomic analysis, announced that it has completed agreements that expand distribution of several of the company's proprietary reagents for DNA probes to researchers in major world markets.
Glen Research Corporation, based in Sterling, Virginia, a provider of specialty chemicals for DNA synthesis, will distribute Epoch's Redmond Red(TM) and Yakima Yellow(TM) fluorphores, Eclipse(TM) Non-Fluorescent Quencher, and PPG modified base worldwide for end users for research purposes. This agreement allows Glen to repackage Epoch's proprietary components into package sizes suitable for purchase by oligonucleotide synthesis facilities and extends the penetration of these products.
Eurogentec S.A., Liege, Belgium, a leading supplier of innovative products and services to the European life sciences community, will use Epoch's Yakima Yellow(TM) dye and Eclipse(TM) Non-Fluorescent Quencher to produce custom oligonucleotides for sale in Europe through both its direct sales force and distributors, and in Japan through its joint venture with Nippon Gene Co. Ltd. This supply agreement allows Eurogentec to sell custom oligonucleotides that include Epoch's proprietary yellow dye or quencher modification.
``These agreements are part of a series of steps we intend to take to broaden the distribution of our products through alliances with proven partners. These international relationships are important and logical elements of our strategy to commercialize our proprietary technologies globally,'' commented William G. Gerber, M.D., chief executive officer of Epoch. ``We believe these technologies provide performance advantages to scientists who are engaged in disease research and drug discovery, and that their worldwide availability through these agreements will bring value to academic, biotech, diagnostic, and pharmaceutical researchers.''
The products covered by the two agreements all are innovative components for DNA probes, the workhorses of genetic analysis. Probes hybridize or bind to target DNA and then provide a signal so that the target can be detected. Many probes also carry a quencher that masks the signal until the binding has occurred. Redmond Red and Yakima Yellow are fluorescent dye tags that can be incorporated into synthetic DNA molecules to allow probe detection on a variety of platforms. The Eclipse Quencher is a new non-fluorescent quencher that allows DNA detection probes to be used for real time PCR applications such as measuring gene expression or detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The PPG modified base is the first in a series of modified bases that Epoch has developed that allow DNA probes to be designed for regions of genomes that cannot be interrogated by probes containing normal nucleotide bases.
``In addition to making these proprietary probe components widely available, we expect to put in place distribution arrangements for our MGB Eclipse(TM) Probe System and other product lines,'' Gerber said. The MGB Eclipse Probe System incorporates several Epoch technical innovations and is used for real-time PCR assays and end point detection.<<
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