New DNA Test That Can Detect Bird Flu Quickly

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Veterinary;  Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 23 Feb 2007 - 10:00 PDT

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eGene Inc. has developed a DNA testing system which is faster and less expensive than tests that are currently used. Currently, genetic analyses performed in the majority of research and application laboratories use a traditional slab-gel electrophoresis system, a technology which was developed more than 20 years ago and has not had a major improvement since then. The slab-gel method is labor-intensive and time-consuming.

eGene developed a proprietary software that can analyze quickly and inexpensively the DNA information that currently has taken hours and hours and has been done by teams of PhD's. The company believes that its new software can bring DNA testing to far greater applications and uses than currently as a result of the reduced manpower and cost.

eGene introduced a new CE System, the HDA-GT12 System, which can overcome the bottlenecks of slab-gel electrophoresis, thus greatly improving the workflow and increasing the productivity of medium- to high-throughput laboratories. The HDA-GT12 System has a patented multiplex fluorescence detection design with inexpensive solid-state light sources and micro-optical collectors which make the system very compact in size and highly affordable. The system works across a wide variety of applications, including microsatellites, pathogen detection/typing, food safety analysis, RNA quality checks, and oligonucleotide quality checks.

The HDA-GT12 tests 12 samples in 7-10 minutes, and other systems take at least a half-hour. It tests 96 samples in 1.3 hours, and the other systems take at least 2 hours. The cost, per test, using the HDA-GT12 is $0.25-$1 per sample. The exact cost is determined by the kind of cartridge which is used, and that is determined by the type of test which is being performed. Using other systems, the cost is at least $1 per sample. When a patient is being tested for a disease, his or her cost is usually 50%-60% lower than using the majority of the current systems.

130 HDA-GT12 systems have been sold, mainly to hospitals and research universities. The system could be used by police departments.

On Jan. 29, eGene announced that they plan to launch a complete solution for fast and low-cost bird flu screening by entering into a distribution agreement with Veredus Labs, of Singapore, for AIV-H5N1 PCR Kit, using eGene's HDA-GT12 System. Ming Liu, the CEO of eGene, said, "Our previous testing results indicated that the HDA system, in combination with this single step RT-PCR assay, is a simple and sensitive assay for H5N1 avian influenza detection that can detect as few as 10 copies of the viral RNA. A total of 96 samples can be analyzed in less than 50 minutes. Initially we believe a fast, sensitive and low-cost analysis to identify the contamination of the viral RNA in the poultry market can be one of the key factors to prevent the mass spread of the virus."

eGene Inc.
17841 Fitch
CA 92614
USA
Ph: (949) 250-8686
Fax: (949) 250-8833
http://www.egeneinc.com

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