NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Molecular diagnostic technology firm Quanterix said today that it will work with Germany's Stratec Biomedical in a partnership to develop, manufacture, and market an automated testing tool aimed at the life sciences and medical in vitro diagnostic markets.
The companies will customize Stratec's technology to develop an automated version of Quanterix's Single Molecule Array (SiMoA) technology.
Quanterix Executive Chairman Martin Madaus said in a statement that the new platform "will enable direct and non-amplified detection of pathogens at levels of sensitivity that could previously only be achieved with amplification methods.
"The system will allow for completely new clinical insights from the measurement of protein biomarkers that were difficult to measure due to sensitivity and precision limitations of conventional technologies."
Cambridge, Mass.-based Quanterix said it expects the partnership will result in the launch of a life sciences instrument in 2013 and commercialization of an IVD platform in 2014.
Under the agreement, Stratec will receive payments and a minority stake of around 7 percent in Quanterix's share capital upon achievement of technological milestones. After the partners complete the development phase, Stratec will manufacture and supply the system, and Quanterix has committed to order an agreed minimum number of the systems.
Further details of the deal were not disclosed.
Last month Quanterix announced a deal with Sony DADC Austria for the development of consumables for the SiMoA platform.