Agilent Technologies Inc., a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, diagnostics, electronics, and communications, and SomaLogic Inc., a privately held biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics company, have entered into an agreement to expand access to SomaLogic's unbiased protein biomarker discovery platform.

The companies will initially place SomaLogic's SOMAscan proteomic assay, which employs custom Agilent microarrays in its workflow, in select academic and contract research centers. Although the SOMAscan assay is already available to researchers directly from SomaLogic as a service, this planned roll-out is aimed at meeting the rapidly growing demand for access to SomaLogic's highly multiplexed, cost-effective proteomic analyses.

"This agreement will greatly enhance our current microarray offerings by expanding them into the rapidly growing proteomics market," said Jacob Thaysen, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Genomics Solutions Division. "SomaLogic's cutting-edge proteomic technology makes them an ideal partner for us to increase our presence in this growing market."

"Agilent's custom microarrays have been a critical element in our development of the SOMAscan assay over the past several years," said Larry Gold, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of SomaLogic. "We are delighted that our partnership is expanding to make the technology even more accessible to researchers everywhere."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The SOMAscan proteomic assay utilizes SomaLogic's proprietary Slow Off-rate Modified Aptamer (SOMAmer) affinity reagents to cost-effectively detect and measure 1129 protein analytes across a wide dynamic range in as little as 50 l of biological sample, with a throughput of nearly a thousand samples per week, producing millions of useful data points in a short time.