NEW YORK – Celemics and South Dakota State University said on Tuesday that they have partnered to create a new sequencing-based panel to detect respiratory pathogens in pigs.
The partners said the test, which detects more than 50 different viruses and bacteria, is the first to use hybridization and next-generation sequencing, rather than PCR or culturing.
"Celemics' hybridization panel represents a large leap forward in our ability to detect and concurrently genetically characterize swine pathogens. While we focus on the most significant pathogens, such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and influenza A virus, clinical disease is often the end result of co-infections with a number of viruses and bacteria," Benjamin Hause, a professor at South Dakota State, said in a statement.
"Celemics' technology will enable comprehensive pathogen screening that will allow better herd management and improved swine health," Hause added. The panel also detects African swine fever virus and foot and mouth disease virus.
Financial and other details of the partnership were not disclosed.
Celemics, based in South Korea, develops target capture-based sequencing kits. Last month, the firm partnered with Strand Life Sciences to combine its bioinformatics pipeline with Strand's analytics platform.