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Pillar Biosciences Licenses KeyGene NGS IP

NEW YORK — Pillar Biosciences said on Thursday that it has acquired a nonexclusive license to high-throughput screening-related intellectual property from Dutch ag-bio firm KeyGene.

The IP, titled "Combinatorial Sequence Barcodes for High-Throughput Screening," covers methods and uses of a combination of two or more nucleotide sequence identifiers in the preparation of a sample DNA for high-throughput sequencing.

Pillar offers next-generation sequencing-based assays to assist with tumor profiling, therapy selection, and recurrence monitoring for cancer patients. The Natick, Massachusetts-based company said that the license will allow it to use the IP in its products, kits, and services for research or clinical testing.

Financial and other terms of the license were not disclosed.

"This license, in combination with our existing broad patent portfolio, helps Pillar confidently enable laboratories around the globe with diagnostic assays that can be performed in a low-cost, high-multiplexed manner, enabling actionable, accessible NGS results," Pillar CEO Randy Pritchard said in a statement.

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