Israeli biotechnology company Rosetta Genomics has signed an agreement with the Rockefeller University in New York for the use of its microRNA bank. The agreement will give Rosetta Genomics access to 180 microRNA segments discovered by the university, in addition to the 360 segments that the company discovered itself through a unique research process.
Under the agreement, Rosetta Genomics will pay Rockefeller University a base payment plus ongoing usage fees and royalties on income generated by the development of products based on the university’s segment bank. The sums in question have not been disclosed.
Originally believed to be components of nonfunctioning “junk DNA”, microRNAs are now known to play a critical role in essential cellular functions in the body, including protein production, cell differentiation and cell death. Rosetta Genomics is one the leading companies worldwide in microRNA research for drug development and the diagnosis of genetic diseases. The company has a number of agreements with drug and diagnostic development companies across the world for the joint development of such products, among them drug development company Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS), with whom Rosetta Genomics has jointly developed microRNA related therapies for the treatment of liver cancer, and US Genomics Inc., with whom it has signed a collaboration agreement to develop a non-invasive microRNA-based early detection test for lung cancer.
Following the agreement with Rockefeller University, Rosetta Genomics now has access to 540 microRNA segments that have been discovered and reported to date. Rockefeller University has a longstanding record in genetic research, and its former faculty staff included the scientists who proved that genes are made of DNA.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on June 14, 2006
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