PRINCETON, N.J., and WALTHAM, Mass., March 6 -- Orchid BioSciences Inc. and Thermo Electron Corp. announced they have signed technology agreements to develop and market next-generation genotyping products for research and pioneering SNP-based point-of-care diagnostic tests. SNPs(single-nucleotide polymorphisms) are single base-pair sequence variations in DNA that can affect medically important factors such as antibiotic resistance, response to therapy, disease susceptibility and genetic disorders. The agreements, between Orchid and Thermo Electron’s Thermo BioStar business, allow Orchid nonexclusive rights from Thermo BioStar to develop, supply and sell genotyping products for the research market, combining Orchid’s proprietary SNP-IT genotyping and Thermo BioStar’s OIA and thin-film biosensor technologies. Orchid and Thermo BioStar have also agreed to jointly develop and market SNP-based diagnostic products for the point-of-care marketplace.