Fisher Scientific willl distribute Affymetrix’ GeneAtlas™ personal microarray system and related consumables throughout the U.S. and Canada. The benchtop GeneAtlas platform has been developed as a complete microarray solution for measuring whole-genome expression, but at a price that will allow even small, cash-strapped labs to invest, Affymetix claims. The system is particularly targeted at researchers with no previous microarray experience, as well as low- to medium-throughput service laboratories, educational laboratories, and emerging markets.
“We are excited to reach this agreement with Fisher Scientific because it allows us to expand our commercial sales in research markets while maintaining our focus further downstream in validation and clinical markets," comments Andy Last, Affymetrix chief commercial officer.
The GeneAtlas System utilizes an array strip format that enables researchers to interrogate four distinct samples simultaneously. At the time of launch, array strips were available in options providing comprehensive coverage of the transcribed human, mouse, or rat genomes for expression profiling, and additional products were in the pipeline. The array strip is also available for custom array designs through the firm’s MyGeneChip™ Custom Array Program.