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Applied Biosystems and Eppendorf announce Real-Time PCR Instrument Licensing Agreement

16 Nov 2005 - Applied Biosystems Group announced it has granted a worldwide, royalty-bearing license to Eppendorf AG under a real-time thermal cycler patent rights agreement. Under the agreement, Eppendorf will have the right to manufacture and sell real-time thermal cyclers in the research and applied fields. Financial terms of the license were not disclosed. "This agreement with Eppendorf further validates the significance of Applied Biosystems' real-time thermal cycler technology," said Paul D. Grossman, Ph.D., Esq., Vice President, Strategic Planning, Business Development and Intellectual Property for Applied Biosystems. "We may consider entering into additional licenses with high quality vendors under the right terms."
 
"We are pleased to announce our agreement with Applied Biosystems," said Klaus Fink, CEO and President of Eppendorf AG. "We are committed to providing our customers with access to technologies that are of greatest importance for the life sciences sector. Our new product generation of real-time cyclers ensures best practices in laboratories in terms of productivity, simplicity, and ease of use."
 
The license to Eppendorf is based on U.S. Patent No. 6,814,934 and foreign equivalents. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) granted Applera this fundamental patent pertaining to real-time PCR instrumentation in November 2004.
 
Counterpart patents in Europe and Japan have been provisionally held invalid by the corresponding patent offices. Applera has appealed those decisions.