The first GeneChip arrays featuring ExonHit's technology are expected to be available on the Affymetrix platform by year end. These will include GPCR, ion channel, nuclear receptor, apoptosis, and the cytokine gene families, ExonHit said.
Customers will be able to access ExonHit's microarray content through a licensing agreement with the company. GeneChip arrays with the alternative RNA splicing technologies can then be purchased directly from Affymetrix.
"License fees will be directly proportional to the number of SpliceArrays purchased, with significant discounts for volume commitments and no reach-through rights," ExonHit said. "Alternatively, ExonHit ... can run and analyze customers' samples through its SpliceArray service."
Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.