QuantuMDx Group, a medical devices company developing handheld and portable low-cost diagnostic, genomic sequencing, and proteomic platforms has entered into an exclusive license deal with Nanosys for various patents and patent applications covering the utilization of nanostructures in biosensors.
The intellectual property portfolio mainly covers the utilization of nanotubes and nanowires in biosensors such as field effect transistor biosensors, which were developed by Charles Lieber, who serves as a chemistry professor at Harvard University.
As per the deal, QuantuMDx has received exclusive global rights for the utilization of nanomaterials for DNA sequencing and determining disease-specific nucleic acid biomarkers, while Nanosys has secured downstream royalty payments and a direct license fee. Other terms of the agreement were not revealed.
Nanosys is the owner of a wide-ranging intellectual property portfolio covering various nanotechnology features such as nanowires and quantum dots for numerous applications, with a major focus on energy storage and LED backlighting. QuantuMDx Group will utilize those nanowire synthesis and composition along with its in-house microfluidic, chemistry, and biology technologies in several portable devices used for DNA sequencing and molecular diagnostics.
The company’s medical director, Sir John Burn stated that the company is developing a user-friendly, sample-to-result instrument that can offer portable, clinical DNA sequencing. The technology, he says, is inexpensive and offers results within minutes, making it a key device in the clinical tool box.
