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Nanogen Establishes Scandinavian Gene Synthesis as New Licensee for Molecular In Vitro Diagnostics

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  Published in Health and Fitness on Wednesday, February 4th 2009 at 8:19 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-02-04 08:20:08 by Market Wire

SAN DIEGO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGEN), developer of molecular and rapid diagnostic products, announced today that it has signed a licensing and supply agreement with Scandinavian Gene Synthesis (SGS) for use of the Company's proprietary MGB Probe technology and synthetic nucleic acid chemistries including dyes and quenchers for use in human in vitro diagnostic testing. Under the licensing agreement, SGS will have rights to use their cGMP manufacturing capabilities to make and sell molecular diagnostic products incorporating the Nanogen molecular technology. Terms of the agreement include an upfront license fee and the commitment for Nanogen to supply component products for use by SGS in the design and manufacture of custom DNA oligonucleotides for the molecular IVD industry.

"The market for molecular diagnostics is growing at more than 20% per year," said David Ludvigson, Nanogen's President and Chief Operating Officer. "With more than 40 molecular diagnostic reagent and kit products in our portfolio and many additional licensees, it's clear our proprietary nucleic acid chemistries have proven to be reliable building blocks for molecular biology applications. We believe that making our MGB technology widely available as the components of choice for PCR based diagnostics will help to grow the market; and enabling quality cGMP manufacturers like SGS to supply the market is part of our business strategy."

About Nanogen, Inc.

Nanogen, Inc. develops diagnostic products that enable physicians to deliver improved patient care. Its products allow faster and easier diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of cardiovascular disease and a range of infectious diseases. The company's products include molecular diagnostic kits and reagents, and kits for rapid point-of-care testing. Nanogen has pioneered the development of biomarkers, molecular biology technologies and nanotechnology to bring better results to diagnostics and healthcare. For additional information, please visit Nanogen's website at [ www.nanogen.com ].

About Scandinavian Gene Synthesis AB

Scandinavian Gene Synthesis (SGS) manufactures synthetic DNA of supreme quality for the molecular diagnostic industry. The company is specialized in the manufacture of highly modified and long oligonucleotides of exceptional purity combined with high yield. Its characteristics include unparalleled lot reproducibility as well as scale-up within the range from 1 to 800 micromolar scale synthesis. The fifteen years of cGMP experience, ISO:9001 and ISO:13485 certifications, and strict Quality System Regulations warrant excellent reliability. SGS' products are distributed world-wide with focus on the US market.

Nanogen Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, including whether patents owned or licensed by Nanogen will be developed into products, whether the patents owned by Nanogen offer any protection against competitors with competing technologies, whether products under development can be successfully developed and commercialized, whether results reported by our customers or partners can be identically replicated, and other risks and uncertainties discussed under the caption "Factors That May Affect Results" and elsewhere in Nanogen's Form 10-K or Form 10-Q most recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Nanogen disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.