South San Francisco, CA-based Fluidigm Corporation FLDM , a leading player in the analysis of single cells and industrial application of genomics, recently announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Baylor Genetics.

Per the agreement, Fluidigm licensed the rights to commercialize the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) library prep assay developed by Baylor Genetics for research purposes. This would be used with its proprietary Juno automated microfluidic system. The targeted library prep assay enables accurate identification of variants from each of the 27 exons in the CFTR gene and selected intronic regions. When combined with Fluidigm microfluidics, this solution has the potential to significantly simplify complex labor-intensive laboratory workflows and improve the efficiency of CFTR sequencing. This would invariably improve the efficiency of its Juno automated microfluidic system and help the company to capture a considerable market share.

Next-generation sequencing offers a more comprehensive approach to CFTR genetic analysis by allowing a complete view of the sequence. Targeted sequencing library prep workflows, however, can be very labor-intensive. With the application of Fluidigm automated microfluidics technology, library preparation can be streamlined to provide significant efficiencies.

Over the past one month, Fluidigm has underperformed the broader industry . The stock has shed 7.1%, compared with the industry's decline of 3.1%.

Fluidigm develops, manufactures and markets life science analytical and preparatory systems for markets such as mass cytometry, high-throughput genomics, and single cell genomics. The company caters to leading academic institutions, clinical research laboratories and pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology companies worldwide.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, Fluidigm has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked medical stocks are Edwards Lifesciences Corp. EW , Lantheus Holdings, Inc. LNTH and Align Technology, Inc. ALGN . Edwards Lifesciences and Align Technology sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Lantheus Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here .

Edwards Lifesciences has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 15.2%. The stock has gained around 3.2% over the last three months.

Lantheus Holdings has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 12.5%. The stock has gained 66.1% over the last six months.

Align Technology has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 26.6%. The stock has rallied roughly 29.6% over the last three months.

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Fluidigm (FLDM) Licenses CFTR Assay From Baylor Genetics ... - Nasdaq