BioTrove, Gene Express to Co-Market Novel Standardized Genetic Profiling Test

BioTrove Inc. and Gene Express, Inc. today announced an exclusive co-marketing agreement to test market a standardized genetic profiling test for indicators of lung cancer risk. Supported by a two-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, the new profiling test combines BioTrove’s OpenArray® nanofluidic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology platform, Gene Express standards for accurate and consistent PCR measurement, and the clinical expertise of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry to create the Standardized NanoArray PCR (SNAP) gene expression profiling system – a novel method for consistent and accurate lung cancer risk analysis deployable to diagnostic laboratories or community hospitals.

“Our customers’ need for viable gene expression analysis, in order to better evaluate patient risk, inspired us to bring together proven OpenArray PCR technology with Gene Express standards to control for consistent accurate results,” said David Lester, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, Gene Express. “The result, our SNAP gene expression profiling system, simplifies and standardizes laboratory workflow, as well as reduces reagent and sample requirements, making genetic profiling viable and translatable across diagnostic laboratories around the country and potentially around the world. This will be a significant contribution for the delivery of Personalized Medicine.”

Combining several high complexity, multi-gene diagnostic tests into a simple and easy-to-use diagnostic tool, the SNAP system is designed to both accelerate and control PCR analysis of biomarkers for lung cancer risk. The BioTrove OpenArray nanofluidic PCR platform enables large-scale analyses with minimal sample requirements, while the Gene Express Standardized RT PCR (StaRT-PCR) standards method controls for false negatives and false positives, and TaqMan® fluorogenic-labeled probes enable specific detection of PCR products, together providing the same quality and dynamic range of standard real-time quantitative PCR, but with simplified workflow and reduced sample requirements – an important consideration when dealing with limited clinical samples. The OpenArray system allows scientists to conduct up to 3,072 independent PCR analyses simultaneously on up to 144 samples in a plate the size of a microscope slide, while StaRT-PCR standards offer a novel method to control for consistent results.

“Receiving grant support from NIH earlier this year reinforced for both of our companies the importance and promise of our joint effort, and the real opportunity to impact patient care by creating a faster, more efficient and more reliable means to evaluate genetic markers related to lung cancer risk,” said Colin J.H. Brenan, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, BioTrove. “Our companies are committed to working together to further develop the SNAP platform for next-generation gene expression-based, multi-gene diagnostics, and we look forward to making this technology available commercially to help bolster the services available at health organizations like local diagnostic laboratories and community hospitals.”