Nanosys Licenses Nanowire Technology to QuantuMDx Group for Next Generation Diagnostic and Sequencing Te...( PALO ALTO Calif. and LONDON May 11 /-...)

PALO ALTO, Calif. and LONDON, May 11 /PRNewswire/ --Nanosys Inc. and QuantuMDx Group (QMDx) today announced that QMDx has signed a non-exclusive license agreement with Nanosys for several patents and patent applications related to the use of nanowires for biosensors.

The core intellectual property involves the use of nanowire-based field effect transistors (FETs) as biosensors, which were derived from the work of Dr. Charles Lieber, a professor of chemistry at Harvard, a pioneer in nanotechnology, and one of the founders of Nanosys.

Under terms of the agreement, QMDx has secured worldwide rights for the use of nanowires for DNA sequencing and detecting biomarkers associated with disease. In exchange, Nanosys has received an upfront license fee and downstream royalty payments. No other financial details of the deal were disclosed.

While Nanosys owns an extensive IP portfolio around multiple aspects of nanotechnology including nanowire compositions, nanowire synthesis and the use of nanowires and other nanostructures for diverse applications, QMDx will bring its proprietary molecular biology and microfluidic technologies to bear on using nanowire based field effect transistors (FETs) as highly responsive sensors of biomolecules. The power of Lieber's technology is that it permits accurate diagnosis and quantification of multiple biomarkers using a small biosensor that lends itself to 'Palm Top' diagnostic devices.

QMDx plans to manufacture and sell devices that are formatted to provide fast, accurate and cost effective point-of-care (POC) diagnosis of disease. Furthermore, QMDx plans to develop its DNA sequencing technology with its nanowire biosensors, to enter the genome sequencing market and pioneer the handheld sequencing market.

"Rapid and sensitive biomarker detection, performed at the point of care, at an affordable price point and to standards usually
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