NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2005--Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq:CBMX) (Nasdaq:ACTG) announced today that CombiMatrix Molecular Diagnostics (CMD), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CombiMatrix, will collaborate with Scott W. Binder, M.D. and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to develop a gene-based test for the diagnosis of malignant melanoma using routinely prepared formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded material. In addition to collaborating on this project with CMD, Dr. Binder and his team at UCLA will provide clinically validated patient samples for the development and validation phase of the project.