Solexa Strenghthens IP Portfolio Around Sequencing by Ligation
Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Solexa, Inc. has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted the Company a key patent that enhances its long-standing portfolio of intellectual property (IP) around the use of microbeads for applications such as sequencing by ligation.
Solexa has substantial IP in both sequencing by ligation and sequencing by synthesis.
The Company continues to develop and broaden its IP position in both fields and the newly granted patent, US6,969,488, is the latest in a continuing family of patents on bead arrays that, along with US patents US6,172,218 and US6,306,597, cover the use of microbeads for sequencing by ligation in a variety of devices, media and systems.
"The granting of our latest patent around bead-based sequencing technologies reflects the emphasis we place on continuing to develop and strengthen our entire IP portfolio, including the extensive IP assets developed at Lynx Therapeutics prior to our business combination," stated John West, chief executive officer of Solexa.
"We believe our pioneering developments in the area of bead-based sequencing by ligation are valuable assets that provide us with additional technology development options as well as strategic licensing opportunities."
US6,172,218 covers mixtures of beads containing different DNA fragments on each bead, and US6,306,597 covers a method for sequencing polynucleotides using repeated cycles of ligation chemistry.
The Company has been investigating and developing technologies around the use of microbeads in sequencing by ligation since 1994, when it filed its first IP in this area.
Although Solexa is currently focused on commercializing a system based on its Clonal Single Molecule Array™ technology, the Company continues to expand its IP around the use of bead-based ligation-mediated approaches for sequencing in order to broaden its technology base.
