NEW YORK – DNA Script, a company developing benchtop DNA synthesis technology, today announced an exclusive licensing agreement for Baseclick's chemistry for printing modified DNA.
So-called "Click" chemistry allows dyes, quenchers, proteins, sugars and other modifications to be added to biomolecules, including nucleic acids. The terms of the agreement allow DNA Script to sell reagent kits with this technology, enabling customers to modify nucleic acids printed on DNA Script's Syntax benchtop system. Financial and other details were not disclosed.
"We see the use of Baseclick‐enabled oligo modification as a key element to enable broad use of enzymatically synthesized nucleic acids," Thomas Ybert, CEO and cofounder of DNA Script, said in a statement. "This exclusive license will help DNA Script strengthen its unique IP portfolio in the field."
"By enabling high-quality oligo labeling inside of our enzyme‐powered systems, we are improving de novo nucleic acid synthesis performance compared to current technologies," Ybert added. "In particular, we expect the combined offering to be game changing for diagnostic assay developers, who presently wait for weeks to secure what we can print in hours when powered by Baseclick's technology."
Click chemistry was developed by researchers at the Scripps Research Institute and published in 2001. Baseclick, a spinout from Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and joint venture with German multinational chemical company BASF, holds a worldwide license covering use of click chemistry in nucleic acids.
In January, Paris-based DNA Script announced a $1.6 million deal with the French Defense Innovation Agency to build a platform for synthesizing qPCR probes. The company has raised over $100 million to date.