Press
Release - Wed
Apr 24 2001
IdentiGEN
signs a Global Licensing deal for its TraceBack™
Technology
Irish
biotechnology company IdentiGEN, has just signed a global non-exclusive
licensing deal with Silliker Laboratories, a world leader in food safety
and testing. As part of the deal Silliker Laboratories is to offer
IdentiGEN’s TraceBack™ technology to it’s customers in key markets
around the world, including Europe, Australia and North America. The
deal represents a major step forward for IdentiGEN, who’s patented
meat tracing technology has attracted considerable international
interest in the current environment of BSE and Foot & Mouth crises.
IdentiGEN’s technology enables the tracing of meat back to source
carcasses through the reading of an animal’s ‘DNA fingerprint’.
“This
deal resolves a key resource deficiency in our internationalisation
strategy and enables us to sell our technology much more broadly,
overcoming geographic, cultural and language barriers” according to
Ciaran Meghen, IdentiGEN’s Managing Director. “Furthermore, by
freeing up key management resources we can now focus on developing the
next generation of traceability products, enabling us respond to the
growing market demand for this technology”
“This
TraceBack™ license deal will help us to respond rapidly and
aggressively to the current demand for more effective traceability
systems”, says Dr Russ Flowers, CEO, Silliker Laboratories. “In
addition to enhancing our product portfolio, it may be used by our
clients as a marketing tool, helping restore consumer confidence in the
beef products they sell”.
The
deal is based around a royalty structure, including an undisclosed
up-front payment. With the current level of demand, IdentiGEN executives
are confident that this structure will benefit both parties. IdentiGEN
have already secured commercial TraceBack™ contracts in Ireland and
the UK with leading retail chains, and plan to finalise commercial
contracts in France and Italy over the coming month.
