MINNEAPOLIS, May  4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) and B-MoGen Biotechnologies, Inc. announced today that Bio-Techne has made a seed investment in B-MoGen and the parties have entered into collaboration agreement which gives Bio-Techne access to gene editing technology.

B-MoGen is a University of Minnesota spin-off founded by David Largaespada and Branden Moriarity, two faculty from the Masonic Cancer Center who have a stellar track record in deploying cutting-edge methods for gene editing and delivery, in the search for novel cancer biomarkers and therapeutics. The startup plans to commercialize these proprietary molecular tools, and provide innovative services to drive research and discovery in the new CRISPR age. The explosion of interest in gene and genome editing using the CRISPR-Cas9 system is fueling improvements to the basic CRISPR molecular toolkit that allow remarkably precise and complex manipulations of multi-gene activity, and B-MoGen is actively participating in this field with a raft of new methods that speed CRISPR genome editing and genetically modify cells.  In particular, B-MoGen has filed for patent coverage for a new universal method for rapid, single-step isolation of gene edited cells.

Bio-Techne, a world leader in providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities, is excited to engage B-MoGen's unique expertise to explore the use of new gene editing technologies to continue improving the production, bioactivity and quality of their market-leading protein and antibody reagents.

Dr. Fernando Bazan, Chief Technology Officer for Bio-Techne, commented that "B-MoGen is a terrific investment in an emerging field of novel molecular and discovery tools that not only drives new science at a dizzying pace, but also provides a strong technological foundation for Bio-Techne to explore new generations of high-quality protein, antibody and cellular reagents, build innovative assays and instruments, and continue strongly as the leader in this life science field. We look forward to working closely with B-MoGen scientists."

Kristin Taylor Geisler, CFO of B-MoGen Biotechnologies added, "We are pleased and excited to be working with Bio-Techne, and deploying our gene editing technology in an innovative effort to improve certain Bio-Techne products. While B-MoGen technology has tremendous therapeutic potential, we are just as interested in using the technology in products that enable life science research.  The market reach of Bio-Techne will allow the benefits of B-MoGen gene editing to rapidly reach the broad market of researchers who rely on quality reagents to conduct their investigations."

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne products assist scientific investigations into biological processes and the nature and progress of specific diseases. They aid in drug discovery efforts and provide the means for accurate clinical tests and diagnoses. With thousands of products in its portfolio, Bio-Techne generated approximately $452 million in net sales in fiscal 2015 and has approximately 1,500 employees worldwide. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit www.bio-techne.com.

B-MoGen Biotechnologies, Inc. is a genome editing company that was born out of a necessity for better biological research tools. We have developed innovative methods that employ cutting edge and time-tested genome editing technologies to study human disease and genetics. We offer our unique gene editing solutions for antibody validation, human disease research, gene transfer and mitochondrial DNA editing. Please visit us at www.bmogen.com.

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SOURCE Bio-Techne Corporation; B-MoGen Biotechnologies, Inc.

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