Affymetrix And ExonHit Therapeutics To Collaborate
Gaithersburg, MD - ExonHit Therapeutics, a private drug and diagnostic discovery company, recently announced a supply and service provider agreement to combine Affymetrix' GeneChip® microarray platform and ExonHit's alternative RNA splicing technologies and expertise.
ExonHit's proprietary SpliceArray content and patented probe design help detect all known transcripts including alternative spliced variants. The first custom designed GeneChip arrays featuring the ExonHit SpliceArray content are expected to be available on the Affymetrix platform by year end. These products will include GPCR, Ion Channel, Nuclear Receptor, Apoptosis and the Cytokine gene families, as well as other custom designs.
"We are pleased to offer our technology on the Affymetrix microarray platform," said Laurent Bracco, Senior VP Technology ExonHit Therapeutics. "ExonHit is committed to providing the scientific community with microarrays designed to interrogate complete transcriptomes. Not taking into account RNA Splicing would be like only looking at the tip of the genomic iceberg. Affymetrix is a leader in the microarray-based solutions and we will now be able to offer our patent protected SpliceArray products on the industry-leading GeneChip microarray platform."
A simple license agreement with ExonHit will enable customers to access ExonHit's proprietary microarray content. Customers can then purchase the GeneChip arrays featuring the SpliceArray content directly from Affymetrix. License fees will be directly proportional to the number of SpliceArrays purchased, with significant discounts for volume commitments and no reach-through rights. Alternatively, ExonHit, as an Affymetrix Authorized Service Provider, can run and analyze customers' samples through its SpliceArray Service.
There are roughly 25,000 genes in the human genome. Alternative RNA Splicing is the main biological process that is responsible for the expansion of this number of genes into several hundred thousand gene products. This diversity of gene products is critical for mediating essential functions in every tissue and cell.
During the recent conference, "Splicing 2005" held in Bethesda MD, USA, http://www.exonhit.com/splicing2005/index.htm, Alan Williams, Director of Chip Design at Affymetrix presented the recently launched Affymetrix GeneChip Human Exon 1.0 ST Array, which offers whole-genome, exon-level expression profiling on a single array. These next-generation microarrays will help researchers better understand the roles that alternative splicing and gene expression play in biology.
"This collaboration with Affymetrix strengthens ExonHit's ability to ensure the rapid penetration of the microarray market with our unique SpliceArray products. We are now working with the two leading companies in this field and this will be of benefit to scientists who will now be able to choose between different platforms to run their SpliceArrays," commented Bruno Tocqué, CEO of ExonHit Therapeutics. "This deal is in line with our overall business strategy to capitalize on our world leadership position in the field of alternative splicing analysis in the areas of gene profiling, diagnostics and therapeutics in order to enable us generate a clear short and long terms revenues stream," he added.
SOURCE: SpliceArrays