Technology to be used in Roche’s new line of RealTime ready qPCR assays.
Roche Diagnostics and Exiqon amended a 2005 license and distribution agreement for the Universal ProbeLibrary (UPL), which is based on Exiqon’s Locked Nucleic Acid Oligonucleotides.
Under the terms of the revised agreement, Roche’s exclusive rights to sell and distribute the ProbeLibrary products are extended on a coexclusive basis. In addition, Roche obtains coexclusive rights to use the UPL for the development and manufacturing of its new line of RealTime ready qPCR assays. With the RealTime ready assay line, Roche Applied Science will offer a fully customizable portfolio of validated target specific gene expression assays for quantitative PCR in single assay format and multiwell plate format, pre-plated in 96- and 384-well qPCR plates for the LightCycler® System.
“This agreement allows us to continue our successful business with the Universal ProbeLibrary products. We will address the current need for increased speed and flexibility in biomedical research providing a customized on-demand supply of single assays and ready to use qPCR panels for virtually every gene of the human genome and other important organisms. The Universal ProbeLibrary products supplement our broad existing portfolio of RealTime PCR products in the best possible way,” comments Manfred Baier, head of Roche Applied Science, a business area within Roche Diagnostics.