CompleGen Inc has delivered a first installment of targeted cell-based assays for high throughput compound screening to DuPont Crop Protection. The assays are based on CompleGen's XenoGene technology and will be used by DuPont Crop Protection for discovery of compounds that are active on a range of agricultural pathogens. These are the first in a series of such screening tools being supplied by CompleGen under an agreement signed last year. The agreement grants DuPont Crop Protection exclusive rights to the assays for agricultural applications, and to CompleGen for human therapeutic applications. The XenoGene system employs functional gene replacement in yeast to isolate genes from essentially any organism and to detect compounds that act specifically upon the product of the isolated gene.

"We are delighted to be working with the scientists in DuPont Crop Protection," said John Swindle, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at CompleGen, "and we especially appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate the utility of the XenoGene technology in finding compounds that address a broad range of difficult targets. We believe our technology offers a very direct path to product discovery."