CEPHEID GRANTED PATENTS FOR BIOTHREAT DETECTION

May 6, 2002 — Cepheid said it has received two U.S. patents covering its DNA detection and microfluidics technology.

The first broadly covers the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm’s I-CORE, a platform that takes minute amounts of DNA and reproduces them to detectable levels through a method called PCR, or polymerase chain reaction. The I-CORE module includes no moving parts and runs on low power, making it durable and suitable for integration into portable and battery-powered systems, the company said.

The second patent covers the automated preparation of biological samples using chip-based microfluidics technology. This technology is incorporated into Cepheid’s DNA detection systems, including its GeneXpert system.

GeneXpert, developed in part with money from the U.S. Department of Defense, enables minimally trained users to obtain an on-site DNA result from a sample in less than 30 minutes. A prototype has been delivered to the U.S. Army for infectious disease research, and commercial availability is expected next year for the clinical diagnostics market.

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