Affymetrix Licenses Microfluidics Technology From Caliper Life Sciences

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALP) and Affymetrix, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFFX) today announced that Caliper has issued Affymetrix a non-exclusive license to use a portion of Caliper's microfluidics patent estate with Affymetrix' GeneChip(R) microarray technologies. The license extends to the manufacture and sale of GeneChip brand products in all areas of application, including research, diagnostics and applied genomics applications. In exchange for the license, Affymetrix will pay upfront licensing fees and royalties on future products covered under the agreement. Further financial details related to the agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement announced today is the second agreement since Caliper began an active program to out-license its intellectual property portfolio. The new "LabChip Driven" program was put in place to support the company's microfluidics adoption strategy and to broaden and accelerate the availability of new technologies and products for life science and diagnostics applications.

"The potential for merging two technologies on the forefront of life science innovation represents an important option for us," said Alan Sherr, Director of Licensing for Affymetrix. "We have worked successfully with Caliper as a partner for a year now, and are pleased to be able to extend the scope of our relationship with Caliper to this new area of potential value and importance to Affymetrix' customers."

"We are pleased that a leading life sciences company like Affymetrix recognizes the vast potential of LabChip technologies," said Kevin Hrusovsky, President and CEO at Caliper. "Affymetrix is moving beyond basic research applications and is pioneering areas such as pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine. Incorporating our technologies -- first laboratory automation and now the potential for Caliper's microfluidics technologies -- into these vital areas of human health is important to our corporate ideals and to our future as a key technology provider to the industry."

The scope of the license agreement includes nucleic acids processing and handling associated with GeneChip arrays, but excludes the right to use LabChip technology with respect to products intended primarily to perform nucleic acid separations as a discrete, non-integrated quality control step.

Source : Affymetrix