EnviroLogix and Ionian Technologies Enter Into Exclusive
DNA License and Technology Transfer Agreement

January 5, 2009 -- EnviroLogix and Ionian Technologies Inc. (San Diego, CA), a company commercializing a proprietary rapid nucleic acid assay technology, have concluded an Exclusive License and Technology Transfer Agreement.

Under terms of the agreement, EnviroLogix is granted worldwide and exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and sell tests serving agricultural (including GMO), plant pathogen and veterinary markets utilizing Ionian’s patented Nicking Enzyme Amplification Reaction (NEAR) technology. The tests will incorporate Ionian’s isothermal amplification methods to detect targeted DNA and RNA, in less than 10 minutes, with sensitivity equivalent to PCR, the current gold standard.

Tests for identifying engineered seeds, grains or crops have relied on detecting novel transgenic proteins with point-of-testing lateral flow strips or lab-based ELISA methods, while PCR is often used for gene analysis. But PCR can take up to 60 minutes and requires complex equipment, and future biotech traits may not express novel proteins or may express these proteins at levels too low for antibody-based detection.

However, all current and future biotech products have or will have modified gene sequences, and thus the need for rapid – and sensitive – nucleic acid testing.

Ionian’s NEAR methods are specific enough to detect single base changes between two otherwise similar sequences. The amplification products can be detected using both fluorescent and lateral flow methods.



Founded in 2000, Ionian Technologies is leveraging its background in biodefense applications to optimize and commercialize a molecular diagnostic platform designed to perform a range of analyses, from identifying infectious diseases to providing point-of-care testing.