CARLSBAD, Calif. — Life Technologies Corporation and The Jackson Laboratory announced today an agreement enabling JAX to use Life’s Transcription Activator-Like Effector technology (TALs) to generate and market novel mouse disease models. The Jackson Laboratory will also establish a program to maintain and distribute TAL-modified mice developed by researchers in pharma and academic labs.
Life Technologies’ patented TAL technology, marketed as GeneArt® Precision TALs, enables targeting and binding of DNA sequences with high precision, permitting researchers to generate genetically modified mice quickly, easily and reliably.
JAX Senior Director of Technology Evaluation and Development Michael V. Wiles, Ph.D., said, "Our ability to use targeted nuclease technologies to modify any mouse strain directly in fertilized oocytes, including previously modified lines, represents one of the most exciting advances since the initial development of gene transfer techniques 25 years ago. This relationship with Life Technologies will advance both our and Life Technologies’ goals in developing animal models that will advance our understanding of human disease and help in the development of novel drugs."
"Success among researchers in using GeneArt® Precision TALs has driven interest in the technology, including the need for a licensed distribution mechanism for model animals," said Nathan Wood, general manager and vice president of synthetic biology at Life Technologies. "As the leader in mouse genetics with facilities worldwide, The Jackson Laboratory is well-equipped to fill this gap, as well as to serve as a go-to source for custom model generation."
The current agreement grants The Jackson Laboratory global, non-exclusive rights to develop and distribute mouse models employing TAL technology. JAX will offer two services: sale of novel models generated internally by JAX scientists; and archiving and distribution of models generated by researchers in the community at large.
Life Technologies has exclusive rights to the fundamental intellectual property portfolio for TAL Effectors that includes U.S. Patent Nos. 8,420,782 and 8,470,973 for all applications in fields outside commercial use in plants. TAL effectors bind to specific DNA sequences with higher precision than zinc finger binding proteins and can be used to deliver a variety of functional elements to activate or repress gene expression or cut and insert DNA.
GeneArt® Precision TALs are supplied as Gateway® compatible entry clones encoding a DNA binding protein for a specific customer-submitted sequence fused to a range of customer selected effector domains. Custom TALs are typically delivered within two weeks after orders are placed.
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center with more than 1,500 employees. Headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine, it has a facility in Sacramento, Calif., and a new genomic medicine institute in Farmington, Conn. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.
Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company that is committed to providing the most innovative products and services to leading customers in the fields of scientific research, genetic analysis and applied sciences. With a presence in more than 180 countries, the company's portfolio of 50,000 end-to-end solutions is secured by more than 5,000 patents and licenses that span the entire biological spectrum -- scientific exploration, molecular diagnostics, 21st century forensics, regenerative medicine and agricultural research. Life Technologies has approximately 10,000 employees and had sales of $3.8 billion in 2012.
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