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Otsuka Exclusively to Market Third Wave Products in Eight Asian Countries

NEW YORK, Oct. 22 - Third Wave Technologies has appointed Otsuka Pharmaceutical to be its exclusive distributor of Invader research products in China, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand, Third Wave said on Monday.

The agreement, which gives Tokyo-based Otsuka charge of what Third Wave says represents one-fourth of the world’s market for genomic research tools, is part on an existing collaboration between Third Wave and the Japanese government’s Millennium Project . Under that collaboration, announced in May, Third Wave will provide more than 120,000 of its Invader products for gene target-discovery and -validation research.

Under terms of the current deal, Otsuka will market, distribute, and provide technical support for both existing catalog and new custom-order Invader products.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Third Wave, based in Madison, Wis., has more than 80,000 SNP genotyping products available now and is adding more than 6,000 units to its catalog every month, the company said.

“Third Wave’s partnership with Otsuka solidifies our leadership position in Japan and significantly expands and expedites our business opportunities throughout Asia,” Lance Fors, Third Wave’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

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