NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Duke University Medical Center researchers will use WaferGen's real-time PCR system to conduct genotyping studies aimed at discovering genetic variants linked to breast cancer, the company said today.
Under the agreement, scientists in the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy will conduct genotyping studies with the SmartChip Real-Time PCR system to validate nucleotide polymorphisms associated with breast cancer, and will study the impact those variants have on disease prognosis and response to treatment.
WaferGen said that this is the first time its system has been used for genotyping studies to validate SNPs.
The firm's Chairman and CEO, Alnoor Shivji, said in a statement that cancer genetics "is a therapeutic area that is of significant interest to WaferGen, as evidenced by the proprietary oncology gene panel assays that we have already developed for use with the SmartChip system."
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.