The ISO 9001:2000 certified specialist oligonucleotide reagent manufacturer, Link Technologies Ltd, is pleased to announce an exclusive license deal with The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited (UMIP) to the University’s “Exciplex” technology. Exciplex diagnostic probes offer ultra-biospecificity and significantly increased detection sensitivity over conventional systems due to negligible background signal.
At the same time, Link and the University are commencing a forward collaboration to further develop the existing technology. Under the terms of the licence agreement Link will manufacture and sell Exciplex-based reagents worldwide. No financial details of the agreement have been disclosed.
University of Manchester scientists, Honorary Professor Ken Douglas and Dr Elena Bichenkova, a Senior Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry, have developed new exciplex diagnostic probes based on labelling oligonucleotides with exciplex partners that form excited-state complexes in close spatial proximity. Application of these modified oligonucleotides in diagnostic systems has been shown to discriminate DNA mutations at the level of PCR products and plasmid DNA.
Professor Douglas commented: “This is a very exciting opportunity to bring together a University discovery base and this excellent company to work together. The Exciplex is a significant new area of science and we are pleased to have the expertise of Link Technologies to take this forward to a commercial entity for clinical benefit”.
Dr John Bremner, Business Development Director at Link Technologies, concurred: “We are
delighted with this deal, although we firmly believe this is simply the start of something truly
exciting. Our ongoing collaboration with the University over the coming months will optimise the technology, allowing us to launch a new range of innovative products targeted at diagnostic companies worldwide.”
Patents for this technology, covering all major market areas, are held by the University of
Manchester and licensed to Link. Link Technologies has also secured the rights to any intellectual property arising from the collaboration with the University.
Technology Transfer; IP commercialisation | 
