Caliper and Seegene partner to provide multiplex molecular diagnostics products
31 Jan 2011
Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. and Seegene, Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership to enable Seegene's SeePlex multiplex diagnostic assays to run on Caliper's innovative LabChip Dx platform.
The SeePlex assays will be marketed and distributed outside of the United States in a preferred partnership for use with the LabChip Dx through Seegene's extensive network of global distributors.
The parties will co-market Caliper's LabChip Dx platform and Seegene's complete line of unique multiplex diagnostic content effective immediately, and work together to implement specific content and platform technology development efforts to expand the number of diagnostic tests available, which will be offered in a unique, co-branded product brochure.
Seegene and Caliper intend to work together to commercialize selected diagnostic assays with improved sensitivity and specificity while reducing overall costs.
The LabChip Dx system, which includes specific diagnostic identification, scoring and reporting software, developed in collaboration with Seegene, is based on the same approach that has become the standard, microfluidic based, electrophoretic separation platform in life sciences research, enabling high throughput, multiplex, cost effective sample processing for discovery and validation of molecular and companion diagnostics.
The platform can analyze large numbers of multiplex samples using very minimal volume of sample with automatic pipetting and avoids the need to further purify or dilute diagnostic PCR products. The cost-effective approach of Caliper's robust microfluidics technology explains its high rate of adoption among research laboratories around the world.
Seegene's proprietary technologies and products have been shown in roughly 500 publications and posters to deliver more accurate and cost effective results in diagnostic testing, a huge benefit for clinical testing laboratories, where accuracy and speed are critical.
Seegene's Dual Priming Oligonucleotide (DPO) approach to PCR-based assays uses a new technique for DNA priming which is structurally and functionally different from traditional PCR priming. Seegene has successfully validated a wide variety of assays utilizing DPO technology in various markets around the world.
"Caliper continues to develop innovative microfluidic solutions that uniquely enable molecular and companion diagnostics," said Kevin Hrusovsky, President and CEO of Caliper Life Sciences. "This agreement to partner with Seegene's innovative multiplex diagnostic content on the LabChip Dx platform should dramatically improve the economics of diagnostic testing and pave the way for the development of critical diagnostics to accelerate the worldwide implementation of personalized medicine.
"We believe that Seegene's DPO technology uniquely enables sensitive and specific, highly multiplexed assays directly from clinical samples, significantly improving the economics of today for centralized and hospital based diagnostic testing."
"We are pleased to partner with Caliper for developing new and highly innovative molecular and companion diagnostic products," said Jong-Yoon Chun, Seegene Founder and CEO. "Our unique SeePlex technology enables highly multiplexed PCR directly from clinical samples. When coupled with Caliper's microfludics based electrophoretic LabChip platforms, the SeePlex assays enable new paradigms for a variety of analytes in a fully automated and highly cost effective manner.
"We believe our partnership to commercialize on Caliper's LabChip Dx platform should provide the most competitive and cost effective approach to diagnosing and managing a variety of threats to public health, thus contributing to the improvement of worldwide health."