NEW YORK, Sept. 4 - Gene Logic spinoff Metrigenix and Neuralstem today said they will roll out a DNA chip for neurodegenerative-disease research within the next three months.
The chip, the first product from a collaboration between the two firms that dates back one year, will be based on Metrigenix's 4D array system and will contain genomic data modeled on Neuralstem's human CNS stem cells, the partners said.
Claiming that "the combination of microarray technology and human CNS gene information is ideal for screening compounds for ... toxicity," Metrigenix said Neuralstem's CNS cultures will be made available to 4D customers for discovery research and follow-up screening and validation.
Metrigenix said the deal with Neuralstem--its first since being spun off from Gene Logic--was designed to devise low-density oligo microarrays that can help researchers study gene expression in the central nervous system.
Terms of the deal called for Metrigenix to provide its flow-thru chip technology while College Park, Md.-based Neuralstem, a developer of stem-cell technology for the human central nervous system, contributes the content.