Luminex Corporation and ViroNovative Announce License Agreement for Human Metapneumovirus Rights

  
    
  
  
    
      Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX), the worldwide leader in multiplexed 
      solutions, and ViroNovative BV today announced that the companies have 
      signed a licensing agreement that gives Luminex worldwide rights to use 
      ViroNovative’s human metapneumovirus (hMPV) 
      intellectual property in the xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP). Under 
      the terms of the agreement, rights to ViroNovative’s 
      hMPV intellectual property will be extended to Luminex’s 
      distributors and end-user customers around the world.
    
    
      “We are pleased to announce this license 
      agreement in place with ViroNovative for human metapneumovirus,” 
      said Jeremy Bridge-Cook, vice president of Luminex Molecular 
      Diagnostics. “This virus is of increasing 
      concern to healthcare providers worldwide. Having this license as part 
      of our xTAG RVP assay is important to us as it allows our customers to 
      use this cutting-edge test without the need to individually secure 
      rights to this intellectual property.”
    
    
      Luminex’s xTAG RVP received 510(k) clearance 
      from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 3, 2008. The 
      test was cleared for the detection and identification of 12 viruses and 
      viral subtypes that are together responsible for more than 85 percent of 
      respiratory viral infections. xTAG RVP is the first multiplexed nucleic 
      acid test for respiratory viruses cleared for in vitro diagnostic 
      use by the FDA and is the first and only test cleared by FDA for the 
      detection of hMPV.
    
    
      “The Luminex platform has achieved remarkable 
      market penetration, so we are delighted to have licensed Luminex 
      Molecular Diagnostics rights to hMPV,” said 
      James Simon, chief operating officer of ViroNovative BV. “This 
      agreement will help promote diagnosis of hMPV, an important virus that 
      infects the respiratory tract and causes significant clinical impact in 
      humans, especially in young children.”
    
    
      Human metapneumovirus was first identified in 2001. The virus, which is 
      found worldwide, causes flu-like symptoms and is a cause of significant 
      upper and lower respiratory infections in all age groups. It is thought 
      to be the second most common cause of lower respiratory infection in 
      young children.
    
    
      About Luminex Corporation
    
    
      Luminex Corporation develops, manufactures and markets proprietary 
      biological testing technologies with applications throughout the 
      diagnostic and life sciences industries. The Company’s 
      xMAP® multiplex solutions include an 
      open-architecture, multi-analyte technology platform that delivers fast, 
      accurate and cost-effective bioassay results to markets as diverse as 
      pharmaceutical drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and biomedical 
      research, including the genomics and proteomics markets. The Company’s 
      xMAP technology is sold worldwide and is already in use in leading 
      clinical laboratories as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic and 
      biotechnology companies. Further information on Luminex Corporation or 
      xMAP technology can be obtained at www.luminexcorp.com.
    
    
      About ViroNovative BV
    
    
      ViroNovative BV is dedicated to providing a complete solution to human 
      Metapneumovirus (hMPV), a virus discovered in 2001 by the team of 
      Prof Dr A.D.M.E. Osterhaus at the Erasmus Medical Centre. To this end, 
      ViroNovative is promoting the development of diagnostics and vaccines 
      for the detection and prevention of hMPV infection.
    
    
      ViroNovative is a member of Viroventures, 
      an organization in which ViroNovative collaborates with affiliates Viroscope 
      and ViroClinics, sharing 
      resources and expertise to combat infectious diseases.