WATERLOO, Ontario--An agreement signed last week will give Allelix Biopharmaceuticals early access to Biomedical Photometrics' patented Genescope technology for reading genetic microarrays. Allelix will evaluate a preproduction version of the Genescope instrument to help accelerate its existing drug discovery programs, and will provide funding during this period. Both companies will share the rights to any inventions developed during the collaboration.
The collaboration will allow BPI to shorten the Genescope commercialization period and to refine the technology to meet the specific needs of biotech researchers. BPI's primary focus is to develop an instrument for rapidly reading microarrays and gene chips that combines the highest possible fluorescence sensitivity with excellent spatial resolution and automatic scan control.