STRASBOURG, France, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Polyplus-transfection SA, a privately-held company developing innovative solutions for the delivery of nucleic acids in research, bioproduction and therapy, announced today that it has granted Roche Glycart AG, a Swiss biotechnology company fully-owned by Roche, a non exclusive license to use polyethylenimine (PEI) for in vitro transfection applications for research purposes.

By entering into this license agreement, Roche Glycart AG becomes one of Polyplus' sub-licensees for the use of PEI-mediated transfection applications for research purposes. This license will enable Roche Glycart AG to use this world-recognized transfection reagent in its research to produce antibody-based products.

"We are delighted to sign this license agreement with Roche Glycart AG, an innovative subsidiary of Roche, focused in the research and development of new engineered antibody-based products," said Mark Bloomfield, CEO of Polyplus-transfection. "PEI-mediated transfection is clearly an essential research tool in this field. Our business relationship with Roche Glycart AG also demonstrates the significant value of our intellectual property rights in the field of PEI-mediated nucleic acid delivery for research purposes."

Financial terms were not disclosed.