EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- ProGenTech Limited, a life sciences & diagnostics company based in Shanghai, China and Emeryville, CA has signed a licensing agreement with Human Genetic Signatures, a Sydney, Australia based life science company to gain access to key hospital-acquired infection targets, payment terms were not disclosed.
Under the terms of the agreement, Human Genetic Signatures will develop assays for MRSA, MSSA, VRE and C. difficile which will then be further integrated into the ProGenTech Entura platforms. It is anticipated that manual assays for these initial targets will be taken to the FDA during 2009 followed by fully integrated and automated versions of the assays in 2010. Launching these assays will mark ProGenTech’s initial foray into the molecular diagnostics market.
Dr. Trevor Hawkins, the Chairman & CEO of ProGenTech said, “We are very excited to be working with Human Genetic Signatures to develop and commercialize these assays. The advantages of our ‘Press play and walk away(TM)’ Entura systems together with the Human Genetic Signatures’ 3base(TM) simplification technology will provide a valuable solution to the underserved hospital-acquired infections market.”
“Our 3base(TM) assay technology is a natural fit with the current and future Entura systems,” said Angus Hastie, CEO of Human Genetic Signatures. “Market trends are indicating that fast and easy to use modular platforms are a powerful path forward for molecular diagnostics. ProGenTech’s platform vision in concert with a menu empowered by 3base(TM) assays will deliver new clinical benefits and the complete diagnostics package to this burgeoning market.”
The key advantage of ProGenTech’s Entura platforms is that they greatly reduce the total hands on time historically associated with sample preparation. The Entura uses a unique cassette-based approach in which all reagents for RNA, DNA or protein applications are pre-loaded in the cassette. The user simply adds their samples to the cassettes, loads the cassettes into the system, presses play, and walks away. The initial focus for ProGenTech has been on developing automated solutions for Systems Biology life science applications. This new relationship with Human Genetic Signatures marks the formal launch of ProGenTech’s Applied Sciences business which will take products and solutions into the Molecular Diagnostics, Forensics and Immunoassay market segments.
The Human Genetic Signatures’ proprietary 3base(TM) technology employs a powerful base modification technique that greatly simplifies the detection of highly variant microorganisms. Easily adaptable to routine assay preparation and amplification methodologies, 3base(TM) can reduce the need for prohibitive multiplexing or cumbersome array-based alternatives. Whilst 3base(TM) can be used for the detection of any microbial target, it is even more useful for detecting pathogens with multiple subtypes or rapidly changing resistance traits. This partnership marks Human Genetic Signatures’ entry into the commercial clinical diagnostics market.
About ProGenTech
ProGenTech is a life science and diagnostics company based in Shanghai, Suzhou and Emeryville, California. Established in 2005, the company has 80 employees today. Its first product, the Entura, was launched in Asia in November 2007. Additional information about ProGenTech can be found at http://www.progentech.com.
About Human Genetic Signatures
Human Genetic Signatures is a life science company based in Sydney, Australia. The company has been involved in microbial detection and human methylation signatures since 2001. It has sought patent protection and published methods for a variety of applications in these fields and is involved in kit distribution and licensing its technologies. Additional information about Human Genetic Signatures can be found at http://www.geneticsignatures.com.
CONTACT: Trevor Hawkins, CEO of ProGenTech Limited, +1-925-640-0479
Web site: http://www.progentech.com/
http://www.geneticsignatures.com/
