BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2006--Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of General Medical Science (NIGMS) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). The $769,250 grant will fund research to develop methods for assembling very large recombinant DNA molecules. This is a continuation of Phase I research where scientists at Blue Heron successfully demonstrated a new restriction technology that allows release of any cloned fragment, regardless of its length or the presence of conventional restriction sites. If the Phase II research is successful, this technology will allow Blue Heron to extend its GeneMaker(R) gene synthesis service to produce fragments of 100,000 base pairs or more.
