SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 27, 2012 – Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with BioDiscovery, Inc., enabling BioDiscovery customers to access Agilent SureFISH probes directly from BioDiscovery’s Nexus software. Researchers using a variety of cytogenetic microarray platforms can now quickly identify aberrations via Nexus and immediately identify/link to available oligonucleotide-based fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) probes for follow-up studies.
“We are pleased to provide this comprehensive real-time solution to cytogenetic researchers,” said Kathleen Shelton, Agilent’s director of marketing for genomics. “This cooperative agreement demonstrates yet another way researchers can leverage our comprehensive, user-friendly SureFISH platform, allowing them to complete their studies more efficiently and effectively than before.”
Agilent’s SureFISH probes are designed for specific, nonrepetitive regions of the genome, enabling users to detect repetitive/aberrant regions as small as 50 kb. This design also reduces the hybridization time to as little as four hours. With a continuously growing menu of SureFISH translocation probes, all centromere probes, 35 telomere probes, and more than 400 general-purpose probes, BioDiscovery customers will be able to efficiently identify probes of interest without having to search external websites and catalogs.
“BioDiscovery Nexus users deal with the full spectrum of cytogenetic platforms,” said BioDiscovery vice president for business development Louis Culot. “We are excited to be able to connect SureFISH seamlessly with Nexus, directing users to probes of interest while they conduct their sample analyses.”
About BioDiscovery
BioDiscovery (www.biodiscovery.com) is a leader in the development of breakthrough software and services for advanced copy number variation and expression analysis, enabling customers in drug discovery and diagnostics by efficiently managing, integrating, and analyzing data generated using high-throughput microarray and next-generation sequencing technologies.
BioDiscovery Nexus Copy Number software offers simple yet powerful tools for copy number variation analysis and visualization from comparative genomic hybridization arrays, single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays, as well as next-generation sequencing data. The elegant user-interface and powerful statistical tools designed specifically for the end-user allow detection of chromosomal aberrations and identification of affected pathways with just a few mouse clicks.
About Agilent in Genomics
Agilent is a global leader in target enrichment for next-generation sequencing and genomic microarrays. The Agilent SureSelect and HaloPlex Target Enrichment Systems enable researchers to easily choose which segments of a genome to sequence, avoiding the time and expense needed to sequence the entire genome. HaloPlex and its same-day sample-to-sequencer workflow is well suited for next-generation desktop sequencers, whereas SureSelect’s ability to accurately capture whole exomes and whole methylomes in a single reaction pairs well with high-throughput next-generation sequencing systems. These are just two products arising from Agilent’s expertise in synthesizing custom complex mixtures of long oligonucleotides gained in microarray manufacturing. Additional product lines built on this core technology include microarrays for genome-wide measurement of gene expression and for comparative genomics hybridization, as well as SureFISH, a highly specific and sensitive oligonucleotide fluorescent in situ hybridization product line. In addition to oligonucleotide-based products, Agilent offers a microfluidic bioanalyzer to measure sample quality, a target enrichment tool to speed next-generation sequencing, and a full set of reagents, hardware, methods and bioinformatics software for genomic experiments.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world’s premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, diagnostics, electronics and communications. The company’s 20,000 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $6.6 billion in fiscal 2011. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.
