IVD Technology
Magazine
IVDT Article Index
Originally Published IVD Technology September 2005
INDUSTRY NEWS
Notables
British Biocell International Holdings plc (BBI; Cardiff, UK) has signed a deal with Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. (Waltham, MA), expanding its access to Inverness’s lateral-flow patents. The agreement covers all specialist products manufactured by BBI. In exchange, BBI will pay a fee to Inverness for each assay produced. Inverness also gains access to BBI’s silver-enhancement technology, and the option to purchase up to 25% of BBI’s equity at a fixed price of £1.00 per share at any time over the next five years.
"Without access to these patents, it is unlikely that we would have been able to maintain the impressive growth rate we have seen in the new product development part of our business, which has been growing at over 100% each year," said Julian Baines, managing director of BBI.
BBI also announced an agreement with Talecris Biotherapeutics (Research Triangle Park, NC) to develop a theranostic tool for screening patients for a deficiency of the protein alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT). AAT deficiency is an inherited disorder that is the most common cause of genetic liver disease in children and of genetic emphysema in adults. Under the terms of the deal, the two companies are scheduled to complete the rapid lateral-flow IVD by the end of 2006.
Roche (Basel, Switzerland) has dedicated the world’s largest polymerase chain reaction (PCR) manufacturing plant in Branchburg, NJ. The 280,000-sq-ft facility, which cost more than $150 million to build and renovate, will employ up to 800 people. Roche Diagnostics plans to move all of its PCR manufacturing activities in New Jersey into the new structure.
Dade Behring Inc. (Deerfield, IL) has entered into a license agreement with the University of Frankfurt (Frankfurt, Germany) and its research and development service provider, Innovectis GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany), for the exclusive rights to vascular disease markers developed by researchers at the University of Frankfurt.
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