Initially funded by a Technology Commercialization Project (TCP) through the University of Utah, Carl Wittwer’s pioneering work in the early 1990’s led to the development of the Light Cycler® system. The LightCycler is a rapid, real-time DNA amplification and analysis instrument for research and clinical diagnostics.

Initial TCP funding led to NIH STTR funding with Idaho Technology, now a local Utah company in Research Park, and eventual licensing to Roche diagnostics for worldwide distribution. More recently a portable version of the LightCycler system was selected as the real-time PCR platform for U.S. military defense against biological weapons. Since 2003, Wittwer has directed the State of Utah Center of Excellence for “Homogeneous DNA Analysis” focusing on rapid DNA analysis in solution.