Diatech Pharmacogenetics launches EasyPGX kits and Helix cfDNA kit

Diatech Pharmacogenetics, an Italian molecular diagnostics firm, has launched a line of PCR-based oncology kits and a kit to detect circulating free DNA. The easyPGX line of PCR kits includes assays for the detection of KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, EGFR, involved in many solid tumors, of DPYD and UGT1A1 variants associated with toxicity upon Fluoropyrimidines and Irinotecan treatment respectively, and a Thyroid panel. The sensitivity of the assays is as low as 0.5 percent, the firm said, and the starting material can be DNA extracted from fresh, frozen, and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues and plasma, as blood for the DPYD and UGT1A1 kits. Reagents are delivered in eight-well strips pre-loaded with a complete master mix in a dry format that is stable at room temperature. The tests have a turnaround time, including deparaffinization and lysis, of less than 3 hours, requiring less than 10 minutes of hands-on time. The Helix kit for cfDNA can be used with 1 to 5 ml of fresh or frozen plasma and has a turnaround time of less than 3 hours.

 

Helomics D-Chip

Helomics launched D-Chip, a searchable bioinformatics platform for mining proprietary multi-omic and clinical data on cancer patients. The technology can be used by diagnostic and drug firms doing biomarker discovery and development, virtual clinical trials, and patient recruitment and selection.

 

NuGen Technologies RNA-seq Kits

NuGen Technologies has launched two RNA sequencing kits: Universal Plus mRNA-seq and Trio RNA-seq. The Universal Plus mRNA-seq kit includes the option of eliminating unwanted transcripts after library construction using the company's proprietary AnyDeplete technology. This improves the ability to detect low expressed genes. The kit also enables input in the range of 1 microgram down to 10 nanograms. Trio RNA-seq is a whole-transcriptome kit that is suited for applications with low-abundance transcripts. It incorporates three technologies: single-primer isothermal amplification, DimerFree technology in the library prep step to minimize adapter dimers, and AnyDeplete.