Stratagene, Focus Diagnostics form molecular diagnostics agreement

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Dec. 5 - Stratagene Corp. said has entered into a license, manufacturing and supply agreement with Focus Diagnostics Inc. to address the growing molecular diagnostics market for infectious diseases.

Under the agreement, Stratagene has granted Focus Diagnostics a non-exclusive license to its proprietary FullVelocity technology. The company said it will also provide expertise and knowledge that Focus will use to develop selected molecular diagnostics testing kits and products.

Stratagene will manufacture the diagnostic products, which Focus intends to commercialize globally, and manufacture and sell reagents to Focus for laboratory-developed tests to be used in Focus' national reference laboratory.

"This exciting agreement with Focus Diagnostics has allowed us to take our FullVelocity technology to the next level of development, beyond proof-of-concept and into commercialization," said Joseph A. Sorge, president and chief executive officer of Stratagene, in a company news release.

"We believe that our technology is faster and more sensitive than competing technologies and that Focus Diagnostics' decision to partner with Stratagene to commercialize molecular diagnostics products validates this belief."

"We chose to partner with Stratagene because we believe the FullVelocity technology is an excellent molecular diagnostics technology," said Charles C. Harwood, chief executive officer of Focus Diagnostics, in the release.

FullVelocity technology is a proprietary, high-speed reagent system for quantitative PCR and QRT-PCR that enables users to make numerous copies of a target, and accurately and quickly to detect the presence of specific DNA and RNA in medical specimens, the company said.

The technology can be used to identify infectious diseases, cancer, genetic diseases and drug sensitivities. Stratagene said it has five U.S.-issued patents on the technology with additional patents pending.

Stratagene is a La Jolla, Calif.-based developer of specialized life science research and diagnostic products.

Focus Diagnostics is a privately held company that develops and provides products and testing services for complex diagnostics, including infectious disease, autoimmune and genetic testing. It is based in Herndon, Va.

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