ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2006--Celera Genomics (NYSE:CRA), an Applera Corporation business, today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Celera approximately $900,000 to develop and commercialize an in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test for the highly pathogenic influenza A/H5 virus (Asian lineage, H5N1). The test Celera plans to develop will be based on the Primer and Probe Set and protocols used in the test from the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The CDC assay is the only FDA-cleared assay for detection of the H5N1 virus, and its use is limited to the laboratories designated by the Laboratory Response Network. Celera’s access to the H5N1 assay information will be through a license to be obtained by Celera from the CDC. The test is expected to be sold through Celera’s alliance with Abbott.
