Affymetrix ($AFFX) is pairing with Singapore's PathGEN Dx to develop a kit that will detect more than 70,000 viral and bacterial genomes.
Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the deal, but it's part of Affymetrix's Powered by Affymetrix (PbA) program, through which the company licenses out its diagnostic technology. In the past, Affymetrix has struck similar deals with Roche Diagnostics ($RHHBY) and Pathwork Diagnostics.
Signing on with PbA gives PathGEN access to Affymetrix's international distribution network, and the kit to be developed will combine PathGEN's proprietary reagents with Affymetrix's GeneChip microarray. The resulting in vitro diagnostic will be a useful tool the detection of numerous pathogens, the Singapore company's co-founder said.
"This will be the start of our development plan for a diagnostic microarray that we feel will ultimately help medical researchers and surveillance investigators identify the full range of viruses and bacteria in their samples," Martin Hibberd said in a statement.
For Affymetrix, the company further expands the adoption of its technology by signing on another PbA participant, and the deal gives it another revenue source in Asia. The company bought out eBiosciences for $315 in June, adding that firm's molecular diagnostics business to its own. Affymetrix reported net income of $30.9 million in the last quarter, up from a loss of $3.7 million in the same period last year.
- read Affymetrix's release