SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sequenom, Inc. (Nasdaq: SQNM - News), a leading provider of genetic-analysis solutions, today announced that it has acquired exclusive worldwide rights (excluding Hong Kong) to digital PCR and other noninvasive prenatal diagnostic intellectual property from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. These newly acquired rights expand Sequenom’s existing, broad intellectual property portfolio of noninvasive prenatal diagnostic methods using fetal nucleic acids obtained from a maternal sample. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Over the past several years, we have acquired numerous intellectual property assets to protect our plans to enter the noninvasive prenatal genetic diagnostic market and this license is another important addition to our broad and deep IP position in this area,” said Harry Stylli, Ph.D., Sequenom’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our intellectual property includes exclusive rights to the widely recognized and pioneering work of Professor Dennis Lo of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and others. This intellectual property is platform-independent and provides Sequenom exclusivity for development and commercialization of noninvasive prenatal tests on any platform. This agreement expands our leadership position as we continue to advance our clinical development program and commercialization plans for our proprietary, noninvasive Trisomy 21 Down syndrome maternal blood test and other innovative prenatal diagnostic tests.”
The exclusive, technology-independent, digital PCR rights announced today, which were developed and validated on Sequenom’s MassARRAY® platform and Fluidigm’s platform, can be adapted for any of the digital PCR platforms that are available, and include the use of fetal nucleic acids obtained from a maternal sample, along with methods of analysis for noninvasive Down (trisomy 21), Edward (trisomy 18), Patau (trisomy 13) and other chromosomal aneuploidy syndrome diagnoses or other autosomal recessive disorders (e.g. cystic fibrosis, thalassemia, Ashkenazi Jewish diseases) utilizing digital PCR.
Sequenom’s Proprietary Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnostics
Sequenom’s commercial opportunities in prenatal diagnostics are built upon its SEQureDxTM technology and are enabled by the pioneering inventions and associated intellectual property rights that it has exclusively licensed from Isis Innovation Ltd., the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford, as well as The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sequenom’s portfolio of noninvasive prenatal diagnostic patent rights and patent applications is platform-independent, includes genetic-analysis methods using circulating cell-free fetal nucleic acids from maternal samples, and also includes a portfolio of methylation and nucleic-acid markers. Sequenom is actively expanding its intellectual property position with new technology and new territories. Because Sequenom’s license rights are platform-independent, the rights provide exclusivity (with the narrow exception in Europe for real time-PCR-based Rhesus D tests) for development and commercialization of noninvasive prenatal tests on any platform and are not limited to the Company’s MassARRAY platform.
About The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Founded in 1963, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a forward looking comprehensive research university with a global vision and a mission to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West. CUHK teachers and students hail from all corners of the world. In 2007, CUHK had more than 6,100 staff members, approximately 10,000 undergraduate and 3,300 research postgraduate students. Of these students, some 2,500 are from 45 countries and regions outside Hong Kong. The University received research funding of close to HK$400 million in the 2006-07 academic year from various local and overseas sources. Four research areas led by CUHK staff have been selected as four of only ten Areas of Excellence funded by the University Grants Committee. CUHK research centres have close collaboration with mainland China and overseas institutions. Many research products have been put into practical use through technology transfer and spin-off companies. Technology transfer at CUHK is handled by the Technology Licensing Office headed by Ms. Alice Ngan.
About Sequenom
Sequenom is committed to providing the best genetic analysis products that translate the results of genomic science into solutions for noninvasive prenatal diagnostics, biomedical research, translational research and molecular medicine applications, and for research conducted in the agro (agricultural and livestock) industry. The Company’s proprietary MassARRAY system is a high-performance (in speed, accuracy and cost efficiency) DNA analysis platform that quantitatively and precisely measures genetic target material and variations. The Company has exclusively licensed intellectual property rights for the development and commercialization of noninvasive prenatal genetic tests for use with the MassARRAY system and other platforms.
Sequenom®, SEQureDxTM and MassARRAY® are trademarks of Sequenom, Inc.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements regarding the Company’s plans to enter the noninvasive prenatal genetic diagnostic market, commercialization plans for the Company’s proprietary noninvasive Trisomy 21 Down syndrome maternal blood test and other innovative prenatal diagnostic tests, and the Company’s development and commercial opportunities in prenatal diagnostics, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks and uncertainties associated with demand for and market acceptance of Sequenom’s products, services, and technologies, new technology and product development and commercialization particularly with respect to new technologies such as noninvasive prenatal molecular diagnostics, reliance upon the collaborative efforts of other parties, competition, government regulation, obtaining or maintaining regulatory approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on current information that is likely to change and speak only as of the date hereof. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and Sequenom undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this press release.
Contact:
Sequenom, Inc. Paul W. Hawran Chief Financial Officer 858-202-9000 or Investor Relations Contact Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates Jody Cain, jcain@lhai.com Kevin Mc Cabe, kmccabe@lhai.com 310-691-7100
Source: Sequenom, Inc.
