MANNEDORF, Switzerland, January 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tecan Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: TECN), a leading global provider of laboratory instruments and solutions, and Enigma Diagnostics Limited, the decentralised and point-of-care molecular diagnostics company, announced today the signing of a licence and collaboration agreement. The licence provides Tecan with access to specific Enigma intellectual property that is used in Enigma's fully automated, molecular diagnostic system, the Enigma(R) ML.

The licence enables Tecan to further expand its growing OEM partnering business and develop a next generation molecular diagnostics platform for a potential OEM partner. The envisaged integrated solution includes enabling consumables and is targeted at central laboratories with the goal to provide a unique combination of features such as, random sample access, complete automation from raw sample to result, a small footprint and a rapid time to result.

Thomas Bachmann, CEO of Tecan, said: "We are delighted to have signed this licence agreement with Enigma for their innovative sample preparation and thermocycling technology. The licence provides us with the opportunity to approach a potential OEM partner with our concept of an integrated solution for molecular diagnostics that includes a unique instrument as well as enabling consumables. The licence agreement builds on our existing agreement with Enigma that we signed in February 2010 for the manufacturing and supply of Enigma(R)'s ML point-of-care molecular diagnostics instruments."

John McKinley, Chairman and CEO of Enigma, said: "We are very pleased to sign this significant agreement which extends an already strong partnership with Tecan. It demonstrates the capability of Enigma's sample preparation and thermocycling technology to generate a pipeline of next generation molecular diagnostic instruments covering high throughput, central laboratory to point of care settings."

Financial terms were not disclosed.