ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Essen Instruments Inc. and OriGene Technologies, Inc. today announced a strategic alliance to co-develop ion channel cell lines. Essen, based in Ann Arbor Michigan, is a leading provider of life science products and services, including ion channel discovery and safety assays. OriGene, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, specializes in the creation and supply of gene-centric products, and has a collection of over 30,000 human full length cDNA clones. Under the terms of the agreement, OriGene will clone and engineer ion channel genes into suitable constructs and optimize methods for expression in mammalian cell lines. Essen will use its expertise in ion channel functional analysis, including planar array electrophysiology and optical imaging, to select and characterize these lines. The end products will be co-marketed by the two companies. Commenting on the agreement, Kirk Schroeder, President of Essen Instruments said ‘We are delighted with this partnership – coupling OriGene’s first in class molecular biology capability with Essen’s ion channel expertise creates a powerful synergy for expanding our reagent catalogue’. Wei-Wu He, CEO of OriGene added ‘This partnership adds significant momentum to our stable cell line development services’.
