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QIAGEN and BioHelix Enter Into Licensing Agreement
Helicase-dependent isothermal DNA amplification system provides new assay technology capabilities for QIAGEN's assay automation platforms

05 May 2008 - QIAGEN and privately held BioHelix have announced that they have entered into a non-exclusive worldwide license and supply agreement for BioHelix's proprietary Helicase Dependent Amplification technology (HDA). HDA is a versatile assay technology to detect and analyze biological target molecules such as DNA and RNA by amplifying target specific genetic information with the highest level of sensitivity and specificity. Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
Unlike conventional amplification technologies such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which requires thermocycling, HDA works at a constant temperature, eliminating the need for complex and costly instrumentation. In addition HDA technology offers a simple reaction workflow and a user-friendly assay design process. Two primers are used to flank the DNA fragment to be amplified, thereby allowing simple and rapid development of new singleplex and/or multiplex assays for use in research, pharmaceutical development, applied markets or molecular diagnostics.
 
Furthermore, HDA has shown potential for the development of simple, portable DNA diagnostic devices to be used in the field or at the point-of-care..