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SOLEXA STRENGTHENS PATENT POSITION IN NEXT-GENERATION GENETIC ANALYSIS HAYWARD, Calif. and Cambridge, U.K. (November 9, 2005) – Solexa, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLXA) today announced two significant additions to its intellectual property (IP) portfolio. These advances relate to the use of reversible terminator chemistry in DNA Sequencing-by-Synthesis (SBS) using either single molecules or clonal single molecules. The allowed claims combine with the company’s existing patent portfolio, which has been bolstered throughout the year by both internal developments and acquisition of key IP, to significantly enhance Solexa’s position in the field of SBS using amplified or non-amplified single molecule arrays.
IP Advances in Reversible-Terminator Chemistry
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has given notice of allowance to Solexa of key claims of a patent application covering the use of reversibly labeled terminators in Sequencing-by-Synthesis. In particular, this application covers the simultaneous removal of the 3’-blocks and nucleotide labels during the SBS process, which provides the advantage of significantly shorter reaction times and greater system throughput.
In addition to allowance of this key patent, Solexa also today disclosed that it has acquired a set of early patents in the area of reversible terminator chemistry. These U.S. patents (5,872,244; 6,235,465; 6,214,987; 5,808,045; 5,763,594) predate Solexa’s own work in the area of reversible terminators and cover a broad range of chemical structures, which can be used for reversible termination. The acquisition of these key early patents, which the company completed in the second quarter of 2005, highlights Solexa’s strategy to identify and acquire key intellectual property to complement its internal IP development in the field. The company’s portfolio, which includes patents applicable to single molecule arrays, amplified clusters of single molecules, and other multi-molecule array formats including beads, provides broad coverage over a range of techniques applicable to the development of next generation genetic analysis systems using Sequencing-by-Synthesis.
“By combining acquired IP with strong internal research and development, we have been able to build an exceptional patent portfolio as we prepare to commercialize our first generation product based on SBS, the Solexa Genome Analysis System,” stated John West, chief executive officer of Solexa. “We believe Solexa’s technology, aided by a growing intellectual property estate, is uniquely positioned to provide the accuracy and density necessary to enable highly economical large-scale genetic analysis, including whole genome resequencing and expression profiling.”
IP Advances in Single-Molecule and Clonal-Single-Molecule Array™ Technology
Over the past year Solexa has made substantial progress in developing its IP portfolio in single-molecule and Clonal Single Molecule Array™ technology. Recently granted U.S. patents include numbers 6,787,308 and 6,833,246, which cover the use and formation of single molecule arrays for base-by-base DNA sequencing. These patents are based on the seminal work conducted by Solexa, as well as by its scientific founders at the University of Cambridge, England and members of its scientific advisory board.
The company also has been allowed claims for two of its patent cases related to the creation of Clonal Single Molecule Array devices, also known as DNA cluster arrays. These claims, which are associated with the technology Solexa acquired from Manteia S.A. in 2004, enable the company to generate highly dense clusters of DNA on a surface, and to determine the sequence of potentially more than 10 million clusters derived from single molecules per square centimeter. Leveraging this density, Solexa’s Genome Analysis System is designed to generate more than one billion bases of sequence per single instrument run, exceeding the per-run output of current industry-standard sequencers by more than two orders of magnitude.
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About Solexa
Solexa, Inc. is developing and preparing to commercialize a new genetic analysis instrument system which will be used to perform a range of analyses including whole genome resequencing, gene expression analysis and micro-RNA analysis. Solexa expects its first-generation technology to generate over a billion bases of DNA sequence per run and to enable whole genome resequencing below $100,000 per sample, making it the first platform to reach this important milestone. Solexa's longer-term goal is to reduce the cost of human re-sequencing to a few thousand dollars for use in a wide range of applications from basic research through clinical diagnostics. For further information, please visit www.solexa.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to the current views of Solexa management as to intellectual property matters, future products, product development including the commercial introduction of the Company’s novel genetic analysis technology and the expansion and success of Solexa's commercial application of its genomics technologies. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "predicts," "expects," "envisions," "hopes," "estimates," "intends," "will," "continue," "may," "potential," "should," "confident," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such expectations of any of the forward-looking statements will prove to be correct, and actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Solexa to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005. Solexa does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Contacts:
Jody Cain (
jcain@lhai.com ) |
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