Invitrogen Corporation Licenses Key Protein Chip Intellectual Property from Zyomyx
Tuesday November 30, 5:00 pm ET
Broad Manufacturing Patents Strengthen Invitrogen's Position in Protein Microarrays
CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2004--Invitrogen Corporation (Nasdaq:IVGN - News) today announced that it has licensed rights to specific fields of use for more than 30 patents in the area of protein microarray development from Zyomyx Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on protein chip technologies. Under the agreement, Invitrogen has exclusive rights to intellectual property covering a wide range of development processes for those protein microarrays that utilize certain detection modalities and contain more than 200 protein-based analytes, or "spots." Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
The licensed intellectual property concerns valuable design features and slide chemistries which will enable Invitrogen to develop additional applications for its protein microarrays. Invitrogen's acquisition of Protometrix, Inc. earlier this year and the recent market introduction of its human protein microarrays have increased the company's strategic interest in further strengthening its intellectual property position in what is expected to be a high growth field.
"Zyomyx was one of the first companies to create protein arrays in a microchip format and was active from its earliest days in filing a large number of important patent applications," said Gregory T. Lucier, Chairman and CEO of Invitrogen Corporation. "The Zyomyx development processes are very complementary to our ProtoArray(TM) products, and by licensing rights to relevant Zyomyx intellectual property we are making it possible for Invitrogen researchers to develop proprietary processes and applications for our unique protein microarrays that will expand their utility and accessibility."
Earlier this month, Invitrogen launched the world's first commercially available microarray optimized for human functional proteins -- the ProtoArray(TM) Human Protein Microarray. This high-density protein chip, containing more than 1,800 unique human proteins representing a cross-section of gene families, allows identification of protein-protein interactions in as little as four hours, as contrasted with the weeks formerly required for similar experiments. In June, the company introduced the Yeast ProtoArray(TM), the first commercial release of a comprehensive protein microarray, orprotein chip, for general research applications. This revolutionary high-throughput technology permits simultaneous and rapid screening of thousands of proteins in a miniaturized format that is compatible with standard laboratory equipment.
In a related development, Invitrogen signed an R&D agreement with Zyomyx in which the company is contributing its product development expertise to help accelerate the commercialization of Invitrogen's new protein microarray products.
"We are delighted that our first major partnership under the new Zyomyx business model is with Invitrogen, a recognized global leader in the provision of innovative products and technologies to accelerate biomedical research," said Peter Wagner, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Zyomyx. "The combination of licenses to a portion of our large patent portfolio and provision of expert-based product development services is illustrative of the types of collaborations we expect to be pursuing with partners going forward."
About Zyomyx
Zyomyx, a privately held biotechnology company based in Hayward, California, is an innovator in the development and commercialization of proprietary protein analysis platforms based on its expertise in biochemicals, materials science and microsystem technologies. The company's offerings include product development programs, intellectual property out-licensing, and R&D collaborations. In addition, Zyomyx provides a product line of human and murine cytokine protein assays to customers using a streamlined service model. For more information, visit the Zyomyx website at www.zyomyx.com. |
