UC System Gains Access to Affymetrix GeneChip Technology

The University of California (UC) has acquired Affymetrix' (Santa Clara, CA) GeneChip technology under the company's AcademicAccess program. Under the agreement, all UC academic and medical institutions will gain preferential access to Affymetrix' standard and custom GeneChip arrays, instrumentation, and software to monitor gene expression for use in research and development activities.

The agreement will allow all UC researchers broad access to GeneChip technology at the Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz campuses. It will also be available to researchers at UC's medical centers located at Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and at UC-operated national laboratories located in Berkeley, Livermore, and Los Alamos, NM.

Affymetrix' AcademicAccess program is a volume discount pricing arrangement granting academic organizations broad access to Affymetrix' GeneChip technology. Terms and conditions of the agreement between the UC and Affymetrix have been specially designed to not interfere with academic researchers publishing their scientific results via traditional and emerging electronic means with their academic, governmental, and commercial scientific colleagues. Under this agreement, the UC system has the right to purchase standard Affymetrix expression GeneChip probe arrays and custom GeneChip products based on any gene sequence available to the university.

Affymetrix has developed its GeneChip system for acquiring, analyzing, and managing complex genetic information in order to improve the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of disease.

For more information: Stephen P.A. Fodor, President and CEO, Affymetrix Inc., 3380 Central Expwy., Santa Clara, CA 95051. Tel: 408-731-5000. Fax: 408-481-0422.