Lynx Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the signing of a research collaboration on September 30, 1999, with Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH (AgrEvo). AgrEvo will receive access to Lynx’s DNA analysis technologies for the study of certain plants, with the aim of developing new crop varieties and other agricultural products. Over the term of this agreement, Lynx could receive over $25 million for the performance of various DNA analyses, the delivery of genomic maps of certain plants, and milestone payments and licensing fees related to the discovery of trait-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the subject plants.

"We are pleased that AgrEvo has decided to make Lynx’s technology platform an integral part of their discovery program," said Dr. Norrie Russell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lynx. "We see this as a great opportunity for both companies. Lynx will expand its presence in the agricultural genomics field and further demonstrate the power of its large-scale DNA analysis technologies and their applicability in multiple genomics fields. At the same time, AgrEvo should benefit from the expected significant time and cost advantages of using our technologies in discovering trait-associated SNPs and constructing high-resolution physical maps for use in developing improved varieties of commercially important crops."

This new collaboration focuses primarily on Lynx’s Megatype™ and mapping technologies. Megatype™ technology enables the comparison of the collected genomes of two populations and the detection and recovery of DNA fragments containing SNPs that distinguish the two populations. Lynx’s mapping technologies could potentially analyze any genome for a particular subset of signature sequences and, from these, construct a physical map. Additionally, Lynx will continue to provide AgrEvo with access to its other technologies, which are designed to
analyze gene expression: Megasort™ , and Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS®). Megasort™ technology enables the comparison of two DNA samples and the physical extraction of those DNA molecules that are present in the samples in different proportions. MPSS® technology is designed to identify simultaneously nearly all the DNA molecules expressed in a sample.

Formed in 1992, Lynx has developed, and continues to develop, unique, proprietary processes aimed at handling and analyzing, simultaneously, very large numbers of DNA molecules or fragments in complex biological samples. At the core of these processes is Lynx’s Megaclone™ technology. This is a micro-bead technology that allows both the simultaneous collection of millions of clones on as any micro-beads, and subsequent simultaneous manipulation or analyses of these clones. Applications include the physical extraction of genes (whether known or unknown) that are differentially expressed between samples (Megasort™ technology), the characterization of gene expression within a sample by Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS®) technology, and a novel, highly efficient means for genotyping very large numbers of genetic markers or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), simultaneously, against large populations of genomes (Megatype™ technology).

Company news release
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