Rights apply to the manufacturing and distribution of oligos, probes, and primers for research including SNP genotyping.
Biosearch Technologies (BTI) obtained a worldwide license to the noncoding DNA patents owned by Genetic Technologies (GTG). BTI says that it thus becomes the first oligonucleotide synthesis company to take a license from GTG to specifically manufacture and distribute oligos, probes, and primers for research use only.
Biosearch has typically supplied probe and primer technology for the measurement of gene copy number. Since the GTG license extends to all genomes and includes SNP genotyping and allelic discrimination, BTI will expand into SNP genotyping, according to Ron Cook, Ph.D., CEO.
The noncoding genomic space includes intergenic and untranslated regions such as introns. “Genetic Technologies holds patents, filed as early as 1989, which cover the fundamental process of intron analysis,” points out Dr. Cook. “The inventions also include an improved mapping method, which is based on the ability to identify haplotypes of individuals through analysis of noncoding region sequence variation patterns, particularly intron sequence variation patterns.
“While GTG has actively offered licenses to their IP, until now there has been no convenient way for those performing research using intron-based genotyping to obtain such a license” Dr. Cook notes. “Under our licensing agreement with GTG, all of Biosearch’s oligonucleotide products are now licensed for research use under the GTG patents and so enable the legitimate practice of noncoding DNA analysis.”
