Nanogen had planned to merge with the French company Elitech Group but the deal collapsed and Nangen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2009; The plan call for the firm to sell off almost all its assets to Elitech. In September 2004, Nanogen entered into a merger agreement WA State based Epoch Biosciences, also SBIR involved. Nanogen, Inc. had been a provider of molecular diagnostic tests. The Company integrates advanced microelectronics and molecular biology into a core technology platform with potentially broad and diverse commercial applications. Nanogen's primary areas of focus have been in genomics and biomedical research, medical diagnostics, forensics and drug discovery. The first application the Company has developed, the NanoChip System, is an integrated bioassay system, consisting of the NanoChip Molecular Biology Workstation and the NanoChip Cartridge. The NanoChip(r) Workstation is comprised of two automated instruments, and the NanoChip Cartridge, a consumable cartridge, incorporates a proprietary microchip. The NanoChip System provides a flexible tool for the rapid identification and precision analysis of biological test samples containing charged molecules.
