Applied Gene Technologies Receives SBIR and CCAT Government Awards in Excess of $300,000.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K Applied Gene Technologies (AGTI) today announced that the company has been selected by the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technologies to receive an SBIR SBIR Small Business Innovation Research (program/grant) SBIR Space Based Infra-Red SBIR Speaker-Boundary Interference SBIR Site Backsurface-referenced Ideal Plane/Range (silicon wafers) Phase I grant and a CCAT CCAT Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (Humboldt State University; Arcata, CA) CCAT Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope CCAT Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test CCAT Competition Commission Appeals Tribunal grant. These awards will fund the development and commercialization of new applications of their TAT(TM) platform and its associated technologies in the field of molecular diagnostics for infectious disease and cancer. "Being selected from large and highly competitive applicant pools at both the Federal and State levels is a strong validation of both our technology and our plans for commercialization," stated Nani Dattagupta, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer of AGTI. "Our broad platform technology has multiple applications in clinical diagnostics and human genetics and our first molecular diagnostic kits will be launched this summer." The company will use these grants to fund: 1) a rapid detection product for drug resistant tuberculosis, 2) the use of our patented stem-loop DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. "hairpin" probe for the detection of mismatches in gene analysis, and 3) a rapid on-site detection product for Category A and B Bio-terrorism agents. Currently, there is no simple, reliable and cost-effective molecular diagnostic product that is non-amplification based available for rapid detection of infectious agents. "Our TAT(TM) platform and surrounding intellectual property portfolio enables us to deliver rapid detection products and improve gene analysis," commented C.N. Sridhar, Ph.D., chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of AGTI. "Filling this unmet need in the marketplace is our goal." AGTI's proprietary TAT(TM) utilizes nucleic acid-probe based diagnostics for early detection of infectious agents and cancer. By employing innovative and proprietary nucleic acid binding ligands coupled with photochemistry photochemistry, study of chemical processes that are accompanied by or catalyzed by the emission or absorption of visible light or ultraviolet radiation. A molecule in its ground (unexcited) state can absorb a quantum of light energy, or photon, and go to a and luminescence techniques, TAT(TM) has the ability to identify infectious agents in less than an hour in a sensitive and reliable manner using a simple, single-vial format. AGTI's patented stem-loop DNA "hairpin" probe invention out-performs existing single-stranded probes for target hybridization hybridization /hy·brid·iza·tion/ (hi?brid-i-za´shun) 1. crossbreeding; the act or process of producing hybrids. 2. molecular hybridization 3. by delivering a more stable target-probe complex, more efficient enzymatic reactions, more sensitivity to mismatches and less non-specific binding of targets. The company's technology improves the specificity of gene analysis and SNPs without using PCR PCR polymerase chain reaction. PCR abbr. polymerase chain reaction Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) . AGTI will begin work on the recently funded NIH "Not invented here." See digispeak. NIH - The United States National Institutes of Health. and CCAT initiatives immediately. The 10-person San Diego-based company was founded in 1998, and has had numerous patents issued. |
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