Luminex, QIAGEN to co- develop assay detection products

QIAGEN N.V. (Venlo, Netherlands) and Luminex Corp. (Austin, TX) have entered into a strategic alliance to develop consumable kits and assays based on Luminex's proprietary LabMAP technology. The new new assay detection products, with applications in both basic research and drug discovery, will be distributed by QIAGEN. Luminex will receive an upfront payment and future royalty payments from QIAGEN based on the sale of kits and reagents.

QIAGEN intends to launch its first line of reagents and assay kits based on the Luminex technology in the third quarter of 2001. The initial products are expected to combine QIAGEN's proprietary protein expression and purification technologies with Luminex's detection platforms. One of the first products will be sets of fluorescently classified beads coated with QIAGEN's proprietary affinity ligands, such as Ni-NTA and Anti-His antibodies, for immobilizing functionally active proteins (tagged with the proprietary histidin (6xHis) tag) such as drug targets and antigens. QIAGEN expects to expand offerings to other products that combine its nucleic acid separation and purification technologies with Luminex's LabMAP detection technologies.

In addition, the companies plan to enter into a development arrangement to integrate Luminex detection and analysis technology with QIAGEN's line of bio-robotic liquid handling instrumentation. The first generation of the integrated system is expected to launch in late 2001. Under the proposed arrangement, Luminex will provide its LabMAP detection and analysis system to QIAGEN, and QIAGEN will develop, market, and distribute the integrated systems.

"We believe that the addition of Luminex's detection technology to our fully automated, proprietary protein purification technologies will provide QIAGEN's customers integrated solutions allowing them to express, affinity purify, immobilize, assay, and analyze biomolecules… on one single instrument platform and sharing the surface chemistries employed," Achim Ribbe, QIAGEN's business unit manager for protein expression, stated. "The integrated instrument system will combine QIAGEN's solutions for fully automated sample preparation and assay set up with Luminex' signal detection, providing both nucleic acid and protein purification capabilities. This will create a uniquely broad application platform, where drug discovery, assay development, protein genomics, and interaction proteomics, as well as nucleic acid analysis applications, can be run on one instrument."

QIAGEN N.V. is a provider of nucleic acid separation, purification, amplification, and handling products., as well as automated instrumentation, synthetic nucleic acid products, and related services.

Luminex Corp. develops, manufactures, and markets biological testing technologies for the life sciences industry.

For more information: QIAGEN N.V., Spoorstraat 50, 5911 KJ Venlo, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-77-320-8400. Fax: +31-77-320-8409.

Edited by Jim Pomager
Assistant Editor, Drug Discovery Online
Source: QIAGEN N.V.