Charleroi – Liège (Belgium), February 1^st 2006 – Privately held companies DNAVision and EUROGENTEC announced today that they have a distribution agreement under which Eurogentec will produce and market real-time PCR kits for the quantitation of more than 200 premature MicroRNA.  This quantitation tool has been developed by DNAVision and validated by EUROGENTEC.  

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of recently discovered RNAs that do not serve as templates for protein synthesis. They play a significant role in the regulation of the gene expression and some recent research data suggest that miRNAs regulate up to 30 percent of the expression of the human genes, including those linked with the development of cancers and infectious diseases. The quantitation of the precursors miRNA  expression will help the understanding of the miRNA functions. Up-regulation of the miRNAs can help to identify gain-of-function phenotypes while down-regulation or inhibition studies can help to identify loss-of-function phenotypes. The combination of up- and down-regulation can be used to identify not only genes that are regulated by miRNAs but also cellular processes that are affected by specific miRNAs. 

"We are delighted to offer this tool to quantitate premature MicroRNA and to point out the entrance of Eurogentec in this new market" said Daniel Marechal, Product and Business Development Manager of Eurogentec. Jean-Pol Detiffe, CEO of DNAVision was equally enthusiastic as he declared that "this agreement is probably the starting point for a synergetic partnership between our two companies and it will strengthen our MicroRNA quantification services for researchers all over the world". 

About DNAVision

Based in Belgium, DNAVision is a leading provider of applied pharmacogenetic & pharmacogenomic services. DNAVision offers the powerful combination of different technologies in expression profiling, SNP genotyping and sequencing in a high quality environment. DNAVision is a spin-off of University of Brussels and Institute of Pathology and Genetics. More information on DNAVision service portfolio can be found on www.dnavision.be 

About EUROGENTEC

EUROGENTEC is among the world largest suppliers of oligonucleotides. The company was founded in 1985 as a spin-off of the University of Liège (Belgium). Its mission is to design and deliver reliable and innovative services and products for the Life-Science community. As a leading supplier for genomic and proteomic research, Eurogentec is able to offer its customers integrated solutions, whether they use DNA, antibodies, peptides or proteins as research tools. Eurogentec also offers research and development services for the biopharmaceutical industry. More information on Eurogentec service portfolio can be found on www.eurogentec.com 

Further information:

Jean-Pol Detiffe                                                        Daniel Marechal

DNAVision                                                                Eurogentec

Tel. +32 71 378 527                                                  Tel. +32 4 372 76 65

www.dnavision.be                                                       www.eurogentec.com