Personal Genome Diagnostics has licensed exclusive rights to Digital Karyotyping technology for cancer genome analysis, developed at John Hopkins University
Genome-mapping service provider Personal Genome Diagnostics, Inc. (PGDx; MD, USA) has recently licensed Digital Karyotyping (DK) technology with the aim to expand its growing enterprise. The company, co-founded by Victor Velculescu and Luiz Diaz from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine (MD, USA), has licensed the rights to the proprietary methods for the study of cancer genomics based on next-generation sequencing.
The company has also announced the expansion of their facilities and the hiring of Genzyme oncology executive, Antony Newton, as Chief Commercial Officer. According to Newton, “At PGDx, we are fortunate to be able to bring the latest advances in cancer genomics such as DK to cancer researchers around the globe.” He added, “This is an exciting time for cancer genomics, and we expect to be announcing a number of collaborations and partnerships in the coming months as we bring our advanced capabilities to the many researchers and drug developers who are rapidly advancing the field.”
The company plans to use its clinical laboratory improvement amendments-certified laboratory and genomic expertise to provide information on tumor-specific mutations to cancer patients and their physicians.
The patented DK technology will allow quantitative analysis of DNA at high resolution and sensitivity, allowing for the identification of changes in the chromosome, such as amplification and deletion, which result in cancer. To date, DK discoveries have included the identification of gene amplification of the therapeutically targetable OTX2 gene in medulloblastoma and the detection of thymidylate synthase amplification in colorectal cancer that results in chemotherapy resistance.
Newton added, “As the utility of cancer genomics evolves, we are considering a number of options for expanding our ability to serve the growing demand for patient-specific analyses that can help inform treatment decisions.”
– Written by Phoebe Heseltine
Source: PGDx licences genome-mapping technology from John Hopkins University and expands its cancer genome analysis business: www.personalgenome.com/sites/default/files/articles/pgdx_relaunch_030613_final.pdf
In a recent press release, the UK-based biotechnology company, Oxford Gene Technology (OGT, Oxfordshire, UK) have announced a new license from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR; Surrey, UK). The agreement details a 3-year collaboration between OGT and the ICR to “further develop and commercialize a new panel of diagnostic and prognostic microRNA biomarkers for prostate cancer”. The aim of the collaboration is to discover such biomarkers, which will have implications in both the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer patients.
Currently, the biomarker prostate-specific antigen is used, alongside digital rectal examinations, in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. It is hoped that this license will allow further development of OGT’s research into alternative biomarkers. As the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mike Evans, explains, “We look forward to continuing our work with the ICR and developing this biomarker panel further. We are hopeful that these biomarkers will change the way that patients with prostate cancer are treated.”
The company explains that the biomarkers currently under research are more specific than current options – with a specificity of over 90%. In addition, they may be able to identify the aggressiveness of the disease, an important piece of information when deciding the course of treatment for individual patients. Colin Cooper (University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK) leads the ICR research, and comments on this further, “Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men with over 240,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the US alone; we need to focus our efforts not only on ensuring accurate diagnosis but also individualised treatment tailored by prognosis.”
In addition to further investigating their panel of potential biomarkers, this license will allow OGT to further research into the feasibility of blood and urine-based samples for use in the assay, with their initial results in translating the assay to blood-based PCR testing showing “encouraging results.”
– Written by Alice O’Hare
Source: OGT granted prostate cancer biomarker licence by the ICR: www.ogt.co.uk/news_events/news/783_ogt_granted_prostate_cancer_biomarker_licence_by_the_icr
LC–MS technology providers AB SCIEX (WA, USA), have recently announced their partnership with instrument provider LECO Corporation (MI, USA), aiming to offer bundled LC–MS- and GC–MS-based solutions in the field of metabolomics research.
The AB SCIEX/LECO bundled solutions is expected to provide researchers with nominal mass systems along with GC–TOF and LC–QTOF-MS systems.
According to Aaron Hudson, Senior Director of Academics and Omics Business, AB SCIEX, “…we interact with metabolomics researchers all over the world and we understand that there are times when metabolomics researchers want to use both GC–MS and LC–MS.” He added that, “Representing a virtual one-stop shop for metabolomics MS, the joint bundles from AB SCIEX and LECO provide users with greater flexibility in chromatography while obtaining the rich information that MS–MS delivers.”
Both companies will work together to offer their product portfolios, expertise and support to researchers via their service teams. Jeffrey Patrick, Director of Marketed Technologies at LECO said, “…facilitating the availability of our systems as complementary technologies, helps to ensure that metabolomics researchers can approach their work to obtain the very best data and information available.” The companies will distribute their products and services across North America and Europe.
– Written by Phoebe Heseltine
Source: AB SCIEX and LECO partner to offer combined solutions for GC/MS and LC/MS to metabolomics researchers: www.absciex.com/company/news-room/ab-sciex-and-leco-partner-to-offer-combined-solutions-for-gcms-and-lcms-to-metabolomics-researchers-
Thermo Fisher Scientific (MA, USA) has recently announced its partnership with scientists at the University of Birmingham (UK) that aims to accelerate research in high-resolution MS and triple quadrupole LC–MS. Scientists at Thermo Fisher Scientific will collaborate with Mark Viant and Warwick Dunn from the University of Birmingham, developing and testing hardware and software for metabolite detection. Proteomics research will also be conducted in and MS chemist’s, Helen Cooper’s, laboratory, for the top-down and bottom-up analysis of proteins, via high-resolution MS and gas-phase ion chemistry.
Adam Tickell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Birmingham said, “We anticipate that innovations from this research will translate directly into improved healthcare and environmental diagnostics. We are particularly excited by Thermo Fisher’s commitment to supporting graduate research.”
The partnership will allow a broad collaboration between Thermo Fisher Scientific and the University of Birmingham, aiming to develop better techniques, instrumentation and software performance through the sharing of samples and data. Iain Mylchreest, Vice President of R&D at Thermo Fisher said, “We look forward to a very productive collaboration with this innovative, creative group for advancing metabolomic and proteomic research.”
– Written by Phoebe Heseltine
Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific forms technology alliance partnership with the University of Birmingham, UK: http://news.thermofisher.com/press-release/thermo-scientific/thermo-fisher-scientific-forms-technology-alliance-partnership-unive
Global CRO, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), LLC, based in Wilmington (NC, USA), has announced the expansion of its current GMP cell-based assay laboratory, which is headquartered in Middleton (WI, USA), to meet the increasing demands of clients seeking validation of bioassays for product release and the stability testing of biological products.
PPD specializes in the provision of chemistry, manufacturing and controls testing across all phases of drug development, as well as offering services in the early characterization, formulation and method development through commercial release and stability testing.
According to a press release from PPD, the cell-based laboratory was initially created to address the need for development, validation and testing under established US Pharacopeial Convention, ICH and US FDA current GMP guidelines. Expansion of the laboratory is to add the following capabilities: ability to handle International Organization for Standardization-certified clean room growth and qualification of cell lines; quarantined segregation of early development projects; increased bioassay capacity and segregation of projects; and BL2/3 isolation for working with viral-based products.
“Biotech and pharmaceutical companies are shifting their strategies to developing high value, niche therapies utilizing biologics, a trend that is expected to generate significant growth in characterization of biologics, as well as biosimilars” said Magdalena Mejillano, Vice President of current GMP laboratories for PPD. “Expanding our capabilities to perform additional cell-based assays that establish the potency and stability of these biologics gives clients greater capacity, flexibility and efficiency in testing their products”, she added.
– Written by Hannah Coaker
Source: PPD expands cGMP cell-based assay laboratory: www.ppdi.com/News-And-Events/News/2013/cGMP-Cell-based-Assay-Laboratory-Expansion.aspx