WaferGen Biosystems, Inc, a leading developer of state-of-the-art gene expression, genotyping, cell biology and stem cell research systems, has signed research collaboration with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System.

Under terms of the collaboration, UT Southwestern will conduct novel research projects using the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System in order to identify and validate gene expression biomarkers related to wound healing. Additionally, researchers will aim to examine the impact the identified biomarkers have on patients' response to treatment.

WaferGen and UT Southwestern scientists believe that the research conducted as part of this collaboration may lead to the discovery of the relative importance of specific genes associated with wound healing. In turn, this critical genetic information may ultimately provide physicians with new tools for determining appropriate treatments for wound healing.

"The establishment of this exciting research collaboration is an important milestone for WaferGen as it serves as a powerful validation for our SmartChip Real-Time PCR System and the value it offers to the research community," stated Alnoor Shivji, WaferGen's chairman and chief executive officer. "UT Southwestern Medical Center is one of the top academic medical centers in the world and we are proud to be able to support the important work being conducted by its impressive team of researchers. We look forward to the important discoveries that Dr. Brown and his team may make with the SmartChip platform."

"We are very impressed with the potential of the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System's innovative capabilities and are eager to initiate our gene expression research programs with this breakthrough platform," stated Spencer Brown, director of Research, Nancy Lee and Perry Bass Advanced Wound Healing Laboratory in the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern. "We believe that the experiments that will be enabled by the clinical validation of the SmartChip system will significantly assist in advancing our research into the field of wound healing and may potentially play a role in impacting the development of treatments in this area."