HOUSTON, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- SeqWright, Inc. and VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc., announced today that SeqWright has signed a definitive agreement to make a follow-on equity investment in privately held VisiGen, a next generation sequencing technology company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“VisiGen has made significant progress in the development of its technology since our initial investment a year ago,” says Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., Founder, SeqWright, Inc., and Professor and Director, Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine. “Our follow-on investment signals our renewed confidence in VisiGen’s technology and its management team.”
In August 2005, VisiGen was awarded a "$1,000 Genome” grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), to advance the development of sequencing technologies that may reduce the cost of DNA sequencing and expand the use of genomics in biomedical research and health care. The ability to cost-effectively sequence an individual genome could enable physicians to tailor diagnosis, treatment, and prevention to each person’s unique genetic profile.
“VisiGen’s approach involves monitoring massively parallel arrays of nanosequencing machines, which may enable much larger scale sequencing projects. Eventually, the approach may enable personalized medicine,” said Susan Hardin, Ph.D., President and CEO of VisiGen. “VisiGen is positioning itself to develop and commercialize ultra-high throughput DNA sequencing through strategic alliances with both Applied Biosystems and SeqWright.”
VisiGen’s technological approach to DNA sequencing is based on the ability to analyze a single molecule of DNA in real-time, which may drastically reduce the cost of sequencing and significantly improve throughput over existing commercially available technologies. This solution could provide a quantum leap in scope and scale of research aimed at uncovering the genetic basis of common diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
SeqWright’s follow-on investment in VisiGen is one of the conditions required by Applied Biosystems to close an equity investment and enter into a scientific collaboration agreement with VisiGen. SeqWright and VisiGen expect that all investments will be made and that the collaboration between Applied Biosystems and VisiGen will begin by calendar year end.
About SeqWright:
SeqWright is a contract research organization with over ten years of experience specializing in DNA discovery products and customized services. In 2001, SeqWright formed Wilbury Partners which owns & operates the Wilbury Biotechnology Center (Houston, TX). In 2004, SeqWright acquired an undisclosed financial share in VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc., which is currently developing a single-molecule DNA sequencing technology (http://www.visigenbio.com ). In 2005, SeqWright formed Codon Biosciences which offers GLP-level microarray expression analysis services (http://www.codonbiosciences.com ).
About VisiGen:
VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc., a privately-held company based in Houston, TX, is developing a radically new method of sequencing DNA that is projected to completely sequence a human genome in a day for the long-coveted target mark of $1000. Its technology is distinguished from other next generation sequencing technologies in that it exploits the natural process of DNA replication in a way that enhances accuracy without drastically impacting efficiency. VisiGen’s approach involves engineering both polymerase and nucleotide triphosphates to act together as direct molecular sensors of DNA base identity in real-time. The massively parallel nature of this technology enables sequence acquisition at rates approaching 1 million bases per second per machine. Information about VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc., is available at http://www.visigenbio.com .
SeqWright, Inc.; VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc.
CONTACT: Ken Paynter of SeqWright, Inc., +1-713-528-4363 x120
