Merck Millipore, the life science business of Germany's Merck KGaA, has signed an exclusive agreement with Singulex, developer and leading provider of Single Molecule Counting (SMC) technology for clinical diagnostics and scientific discovery, to manage the Almeda, California-based US products group's life science research business.

The deal, which expands Merck Millipore's Protein Detection business with the addition of Singulex's ultra-sensitive Erenna immunoassay platform, foresees the German-based company making an upfront payment to the California firm and also includes royalties and additional payments based upon achievement of certain commercial milestones.

Under the terms of the agreement - for which financial terms were not disclosed - Merck Millipore will have exclusive rights to further develop and commercialize the SMC technology for research applications worldwide.

Singulex is retaining the rights to the technology for use in its clinical lab testing and in vitro diagnostics businesses.

"Reliable, ultra-sensitive protein detection is a critical unmet need in life science research," Merck Millipore said. "Current technologies allow detection of only approximately 5% of proteins in the entire proteome due to the very low abundance of many biomarkers, leaving the vast majority of proteins virtually undetectable."

The clinical benefits of the Singulex SMC technology, a patented technology combining signal enhancement and background reduction coupled with low volume sampling to achieve ultra-high sensitivity protein detection, have been "well-established," the German company said.

"This agreement is further evidence of Merck Millipore's commitment to bringing innovative technologies to our global life science customers," said Udit Batra, president and CEO of Merck Millipore. "The Erenna platform offers the unique advantage of unrivaled sensitivity and precision and will be a strong addition to our Protein Detection franchise."