NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Luminex said today that it has signed an agreement with Dutch diagnostic developer ViroNovative that gives it worldwide rights to use the company’s human metapneumovirus intellectual property in its xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel.
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Luminex said that its distributors and end-user customers around the world also have rights to use the ViroNovative IP under the terms of the agreement.
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"Having this license as part of our xTAG RVP assay is important to us as it allows our customers to use this cutting-edge test without the need to individually secure rights to this intellectual property," said Jeremy Bridge-Cook, vice president of Luminex Molecular Diagnostics, in a statement. Â
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Luminex received 510(k) clearance for the xTAG RVP assay from the US Food and Drug Administration in January. The test was cleared for the detection of 12 viruses and viral subtypes, including hMPV.
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ViroNovative is an Erasmus University spin-out that is focused on developing diagnostics, vaccines, and antivirals for hMPV. The virus, first characterized in 2001 by company founders, causes flu-like symptoms and is thought to be the second-most-common cause of lower respiratory infection in young children.