Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) today announced that the company has signed an agreement with Quidel Corporation to distribute and commercialize molecular diagnostic assays for the European market. The deal represents Life's continued growth into the diagnostics space.
"About ten percent of Life Technologies' current revenues derive from molecular diagnostics," said Kim Caple, head of molecular diagnostics at Life Technologies, "and we expect that percentage to grow significantly in the next several years as we expand our presence in the diagnostics arena."
The agreement calls for Life Technologies to sell Quidel's current and future assays in Europe, where Life has a broad established distribution network. Beginning in October, Life Technologies will distribute the Quidel® Molecular Influenza A+B Real-Time RT-PCR Assay and hMPV (human metapneumovirus) kits to European markets.
The kits offer both performance benefits and workflow benefits over currently available tests. The influenza kit was shown to be more sensitive and specific than the comparator assay in a trial with more than 600 samples. The workflow has been improved by allowing for refrigerated storage rather than freezer storage, one-step reagent setup, and fast qPCR cycling resulting in answers 75 minutes after sample preparation.
Both kits are for use with Life's 7500 family PCR Instruments, which are installed in hundreds of clinical diagnostic labs across Europe. The Quidel® Molecular Influenza A+B Real-Time RT-PCR Assay and hMPV kit are CE-marked. Later in 2011, Life Technologies and Quidel expect to launch additional infectious disease kits to the European market.
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