Hoping to speed up the development of DNA chip technology, two domestic companies signed an agreement Monday to create the largest DNA chip firm in the country.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Shanghai Biowindow Gene Development Company and the Zaoqing Starlake Biology Technology Corporation will establish a new enterprise, the Shanghai Biostar Genechip Company, to develop several different kinds of DNA chip technologies.
Company officials said the deal involves a major investment of 500 million yuan (US$60.24 million), half of that in chip technology from Biowindow and the rest in capital from Starlake.
"Our cooperation will help us capture the domestic DNA chip market and find a market overseas for the technology," said Qin Yilong, vice president of the Shanghai United Gene Company, the parent company of Biowindow.
Researchers working on the DNA chip - 100,000 bits of the human genetic code on a wafer of silicon or glass - said the new technology will quicken and improve a doctor's diagnosis of cancer or other diseases.
DNA chips will enable clinicians and, in some cases, even patients themselves to quickly and inexpensively detect the presence of a whole array of genetically based diseases and conditions, including AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, cystic fibrosis, and some forms of cancer.
Biowindow, a privately-owned company, is at the forefront of human gene technology in the country. In September 1999, it produced the nation's first DNA chip, in additon to developing a chip designed to diagnose several types of hepatitis.
(www.eastday.com)
