SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 – Applied Gene Technologies has entered a development, manufacturing, and marketing deal with Taiwanese biopharmaceutical company AsiaGen, the companies announced Monday.
Applied Gene Technologies, based in San Diego, will develop tuberculosis diagnostics using its Tessera Array Technology for AsiaGen, which received exclusive rights to manufacture and market the product in Asia.
Applied Gene Technologies will receive an upfront payment for the development work, according to the company. Details of the payment were not disclosed.
Applied Gene Technologies’ Tessera Arrays analyze patient samples of nucleic acids to detect a sequence of target marker genes for infectious organisms. The technology utilizes reverse hybridization to identify an organism after a single hybridization, according to the company.
“Over three million deaths a year are caused by tuberculosis in Asia,” Nani Dattagupta, chief scientific officer of Applied Gene Technologies, said in a statement. “Our diagnostics will help save lives by detecting those that have been exposed to the tuberculosis bacteria more accurately and efficiently, allowing treatment at an earlier stage. Our relationship with AsiaGen will further accelerate the development of new diagnostics using our Tessera Array Technology.”