Beckman Coulter Selects SAFC Supply Solutions as Licensing Partner

SAFC, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich Group has announced that its Supply Solutions business segment has received a license for Beckman Coulter's fast deprotection chemistry.

The agreement covers Beckman Coulter's acetyl-protected cytidine DNA- and 2'-O-methyl phosphoramidites for the synthesis of oligonucleotides. These chemistries collapse cleavage and deprotection timelines to mere minutes, while completely maintaining the integrity of synthesized DNA and RNA.

SAFC is the first company licensed to the full range of these phosphoramidites, which will be produced at their Proligo® Reagents ISO 9001-certified manufacturing facility in Hamburg, Germany.

The licensing agreement expands SAFC's oligo synthesis reagents offer in the sector. The agreement coincides with the U.S. TIDES® 2007 conference being held in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 20 - 23, 2007.

Dr. Andreas Wolter, SAFC's Proligo Reagents Managing Director, said, "Oligo therapeutics are now the focus of over 120 preclinical studies or clinical trials and the industry has seen investments of over $3.5 billion in the past four years. Our licensing agreement with Beckman Coulter provides customers with access to these key components in oligonucleotides synthesis.”

Mr. Wolter continued, “Use of fast deprotection technology, supported by proven high-quality and consistency of SAFC Proligo Reagents will benefit scientists across research, pharmaceutical and diagnostic applications. Given the growing momentum in oligo therapeutics, we are delighted to have this opportunity to team with Beckman Coulter."

"We are pleased to grant this technology license to SAFC," said Chris Neary, Vice President of Beckman Coulter's Discovery Products Business Center. "We are confident that SAFC will produce and deliver high-quality products to customers working in the field of genetics."