MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluechiip Limited [ASX: BCT] today announced that USA-based high-technology manufacturing company MiTeGen, LLC has signed a license agreement for tracking of cryopins.
The Joint Development, Collaboration and License Agreement with Bluechiip allows MiTeGen to integrate Bluechiip’s tracking technology into the cryopins it manufactures and sells to the likes of the Australian Synchrotron, for which Bluechiip has just completed a project, as well as other synchrotrons around the world. The agreement allows MiTeGen to develop with Bluechiip, and for MiTeGen to sell this ‘enhanced’ product. This adds a further product to Bluechiip’s product range and another revenue stream as the company moves into the commercialisation phase.
MiTeGen, based in New York, designs, manufactures and distributes products for -- among other purposes -- crystallization, crystallography and x-ray diffraction of proteins, viruses and small molecule/inorganic compounds. MiTeGen supplies crystallography goniometer bases -- also commonly referred to as ‘cryopins’ -- for crystal mounts which are used in synchrotrons. MiTeGen’s customers include academic, medical, pharmaceutical, government and industrial laboratories in more than 40 countries.
MiTeGen is one of the world’s major suppliers of cryopins, offering a wider range of cryopin designs than any other manufacturers, to better meet the varying needs of global customers. MiTeGen’s extensive line of Goniometer bases include patented reusable bases unique to the industry and very popular with users. The cryopin global market is estimated to use 2 million per year in synchrotrons across the world, with other uses in markets including research and science which are yet to be explored.
Brett Schwarz, Managing Director of Bluechiip Limited, said the agreement with MiTeGen comes on the back of several recent agreements with other major companies around the globe. “All of these agreements are with companies that operate in significant markets. These agreements help validate the bluechiip® technology and underline how important our technology is when it comes to the accurate tracking of information on important assets. We are confident that the agreement with MiTeGen will lead to better products and greater sales for both organisations, as well as prove the ‘platform technology’ nature of the bluechiip® tracking technology.”
Robert Newman, CEO MiTeGen, said, “MiTeGen has a history of bringing cutting-edge sample handling innovation to crystallographers. We are excited to continue this tradition by partnering with Bluechiip to bring their sample tracking technology to beamlines and crystallography labs worldwide. The bluechiip® technology offers numerous advantages over traditional bar-coding of bases and is extremely well suited for cryogenic conditions, as well as room temperature studies.”
About Bluechiip Limited:
Bluechiip has developed a wireless tracking solution for the healthcare and life science, security, defence and manufacturing industries which represents a generational change from current methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D) and microelectronic integrated circuit (IC)-based RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).
The unique tag is based on MEMS technology and contains no electronics. The tag can either be embedded or manufactured into a storage product, such as vials or bags. Easy identification, along with any associated information from the tag such as temperature can be detected by a reader, which can also sense the temperature of the tagged items. The traditional identification technologies have significant limitations. Whereas a barcode requires a visible tag or line-of-sight optical scan, bluechiip® technology does not. Unlike labels, barcodes and RFID, the bluechiip® technology can sense the temperature of each item a tag is attached to, or embedded in.
The bluechiip® technology has initial applications in the healthcare industry particularly those businesses which require cryogenic storage facilities (biobanks and biorepositories). bluechiip® offers the only technology that enables accurate and reliable tracking of products including stem cells, cord blood, and other biospecimens. In addition to functioning in extreme temperatures, the bluechiip® tracking solution can survive autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting.
The bluechiip® technology has other healthcare applications in pathology, clinical trials and forensics. Several other key markets outside of healthcare include cold-chain logistics/supply chain, security/defence, industrial/manufacturing and aerospace/aviation.
About MiTeGen
Founded in 2004, MiTeGen designs, manufactures and distributes products for crystallization, crystallography and x-ray diffraction of proteins, viruses and small molecule/inorganic compounds, and for manipulation and measurement of small samples in cell biology, histology, clinical diagnostics, entomology, archaeology, art restoration and geology. Its customers include academic, medical, pharmaceutical, government and industrial laboratories in more than 40 countries.
For more information:
Brett Schwarz
Managing Director, Bluechiip Limited
Ph: +61-419-367-590
brett.schwarz@bluechiip.com
Richard Allen
Oxygen Financial Public Relations
Ph: +61-3-9915-6341
richard@oxygenpr.com.au
SOURCE Bluechiip Limited
