NVE Wins Additional
Government Biosensor Funding
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--January 26, 2004--NVE Corporation (NasdaqSC:
NVEC) announced today that it has been awarded approximately $450,000
by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense
Sciences Office (DSO) for the next phase of development of advanced
Bio-Magnetic Interfacing Concepts (BioMagnetICs). The additional
funding brings total funding under the contract, which was announced
in August 2002, to approximately $1.24 million.
The goal of the DARPA BioMagnetICs program is to demonstrate nanoscale
magnetics at the cellular and ultimately molecular level. Under
the contract, NVE will develop devices incorporating its proprietary
spintronic materials, which are as thin as a few atoms. NVE has
fabricated working BioMagnetIC sensors which have been independently
tested, completing an important phase of work under the contract.
The new phase, which is expected to take approximately one year,
will tailor devices for laboratory-on-a-chip applications.
The commercial potential of spintronics has been estimated to be
$100 billion per year. BioMagnetIC applications include ultra-miniature
biological warfare agent detectors, real-time DNA testers, and laboratory-on-a-chip
diagnostic systems.
"Our long-term goal is to put very low-cost, manufacturable devices
in the hands of soldiers and consumers that are as easy to use as
a digital thermometer. This technology could allow cabinet-sized
instruments to be replaced by hand-held devices for a small fraction
of the cost, and produce accurate results in minutes rather than
hours," commented NVE Vice President of Development John K. Myers.
U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) congratulated NVE on the award: "Minnesota
is a world leader in biotechnology and is making a significant contribution
in nanotechnology. This contract with a Minnesota company will allow
NVE to make further advances in nanotechnology and help keep our
country safe."
NVE is a leader in the practical commercialization of spintronics,
a nanotechnology which many experts believe represents the next
generation of microelectronics. NVE licenses its MRAM intellectual
property and sells spintronic products including sensors and couplers
to revolutionize data sensing and transmission.
Information on the DARPA BioMagnetICs program can be found at http://www.darpa.mil/dso/thrust/biosci/biomagn.htm.
Statements used in this press release that relate to future
plans, events, financial results or performance are forward-looking
statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including,
among others, such factors as uncertainties relating to future government
funding, risks relating to making commercially viable devices, as
well as the risk factors listed from time to time in the company's
SEC filings.
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