Affymetrix, Inc.and PathGEN Dx Pte. Ltd., a spin-off molecular diagnostics company founded by researchers from the Genome Institute of Singapore, have signed a Powered by Affymetrix™ (PbA) Program agreement.

Under this PbA agreement, PathGEN Dx will develop an in-vitro diagnostic kit for comprehensive pathogen detection using their PathGEN®PathChip and is based on a patented, efficient, and accurate microarray-based protocol and analysis method. The kit will be comprised of PathGEN Dx's proprietary reagents, an automated software package, and a contract manufactured GeneChip® microarray from Affymetrix. It will detect the presence of more than 70,000 viral and bacterial genomes from a wide variety of human samples, annotate the genomic information, and identify co-infecting pathogens.

Dr. Martin Hibberd, PathGEN Dx Co-Founder, said, "This will be the start of our development plan for a diagnostic microarray that we feel will ultimately help medical researchers and surveillance investigators identify the full range of viruses and bacteria in their samples."