Life Technologies Buys PCR Technology
Cytonix was established in 1985 and was based in Beltsville, Maryland. Its Genomic Nanosystems subsidiary, formed in 2006, had been licensing the technology. Licensees include Sequenom. According to Genomic Nanosystems, the technology’s advantages include high accuracy, wide dynamic range and use with various detection methods, such as MS.
Carlsbad, CA 7/28/09—Life Technologies disclosed in its second-quarter earnings report that is has acquired Cytonix for its intellectual property related to its digital PCR technology. Life Technologies stated that it plans to license the technology and commercialize it. Applications for the commercialized technology could include next-generation sequencing library quantification and molecular diagnostic assays. The company’s “DigitalPCR” technology employs a microfluidic chip to amplify single molecules of DNA or RNA in miniature regions, allowing for multiple parallel, highly precise reactions. DigitalPCR can also perform clonal template amplification.