Affymetrix Enables Analysis of Challenging Sample Types Through Exclusive Agreement With Genisphere
November 16 2011 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Affymetrix®, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) announced today that it has
entered into an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with
Genisphere®, LLC, for RNA amplification and labeling technology to
address challenging sample types including formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples for GeneChip® Arrays.
These FFPE samples, common in cancer and translational research,
are an untapped resource of valuable data for academic,
pharmaceutical, and biotechnology researchers using microarrays to
discover biomarkers and clinically relevant gene expression
profiles to advance the understanding of diseases.
This technology, currently supplied by Genisphere to Pathwork®
Diagnostics for their FDA-cleared, gene expression-based
Tissue-of-Origin Test, gives researchers access to the estimated
400 million archived normal and tumor FFPE samples that can be
tapped for research and retrospective clinical trials. “The
Genisphere RampUp™ Kit enables us to routinely and reliably analyze
clinical FFPE tissue biopsy specimens, many which contain very
limited amounts of tissue,” said W. David Henner, MD, PhD, and
Chief Medical Officer at Pathworks Diagnostics.
“Extracting the maximum available content from FFPE and other
clinical samples required a unique solution to a complex problem
wrapped in a simple, easy-to-use package. Building upon our
proven RampUP product line, Genisphere optimized the process and
enhanced fidelity, yielding a streamlined RNA amplification product
that outperforms other competitive platforms,” said Bob Getts, Vice
President of Research and Development at Genisphere.
Affymetrix branded kits will be available in 2012. The
affordable kits will provide an easy-to-use workflow, higher
sensitivity, and better reproducibility than other currently
available solutions for FFPE RNA analysis. Combined with the
most widely cited microarrays, including the GeneChip® Human Genome
U133 2.0 Array and whole-transcriptome gene arrays from Affymetrix,
this solution provides a powerful new tool for gene expression
analysis of clinically relevant FFPE samples.
“This agreement advances the Affymetrix vision of growing our
microarray business within targeted applications where array-based
approaches provide more cost-effective solutions, highly accurate
data, and the most relevant gene expression content compared to
competing technologies,” said Kevin Cannon PhD, General Manager of
the Gene Expression Business Unit at Affymetrix. “In today’s
competitive market, it is critical to provide researchers with the
right tool for the specific application. The strategic addition of
Genisphere’s RNA amplification and labeling solution for FFPE
samples is a perfect complement to the Affymetrix microarray
portfolio, providing researchers a complete workflow solution from
whole-genome analysis of clinically challenging FFPE samples to
validation of single genes using our QuantiGene® Assay portfolio of
products.”
About Affymetrix
Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical,
diagnostic, and biotechnology companies as well as leading
academic, government, and nonprofit research institutes. More than
2,100 systems have been shipped around the world, and more than
24,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the
technology. Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, and has
manufacturing facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, and Singapore. The
company has about 900 employees worldwide and maintains sales and
distribution operations across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. For
more information about Affymetrix, please visit
http://www.affymetrix.com.
Forward-looking statements
All statements in this press release that are not historical are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements
regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs," "hopes,"
"intentions," "strategies," or the like. Such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected. These and
other risk factors are discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2010, and other SEC reports for subsequent
quarterly periods.
NOTE: Affymetrix, and the Affymetrix logo, are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Affymetrix, Inc.
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