NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Life Technologies has signed an agreement with Chinese molecular diagnostics firm DaAn Gene to create Life Technoloiges DaAn Diagnostics, a joint venture to develop and commercialize molecular diagnostic assays.
Based in Guangzhou, China, Life Tech DaAn will develop assays based on Life Tech's 3500Dx Capillary Electrophoresis instrument and the Big Dye Cycle Sequencing technologies, Life Tech announced Monday evening. The assays will be targeted at oncology, infectious diseases, and genetic diseases.
The partnership, which Life Tech said will result in the early diagnosis of disease, allows both firms to expand the use of CE technology into the Chinese clinical diagnostics market. The 3500Dx platform, a capillary-based Sanger sequencer, was approved by the China State Food and Drug Administration for IVD diagnostic use in October.
The joint venture strengthens Life Tech's foundation in the clinical diagnostics space and "represents a big lead forward for our business in China," its Chairman and CEO Greg Lucier said in a statement. Siddhartha Kadia, president of the company's operations in China, added that the deal leverages his firm's expertise in platform development and DaAn Gene's expertise in regulated markets with kit development and commercialization.
According to DaAn Gene CEO Zhou Xinyu, his firm and Applied Biosystems, now part of Life Tech, collaborated to bring PCR technology into China's molecular diagnostics market 20 years ago. Today's agreement opens the global market to DaAn Gene and brings Life Tech's technologies into China's in vitro diagnostic market, Zhou said.
DaAn Gene was founded in 1993 and provides molecular diagnostic solutions including R&D of reagents and instruments as well as various services.
Financial terms were not disclosed.