NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Life sciences and molecular diagnostics company ProGenTech announced today that it has signed a collaborative agreement with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention to create a joint laboratory for developing next-generation molecular diagnostic systems and assays.
As part of its effort to develop integrated molecular diagnostics for pathogen detection and surveillance, the lab will employ ProGenTech’s Entura sample purification instrument platform and cassettes.
China CDC spokesman XiaoYong Tong said in a statement that the collaboration is intended to augment China CDC’s ability to detect and prevent infectious disease. The molecular diagnostics will be designed for identification and surveillance of existing and emerging pathogens of interest to the Chinese CDC.
ProGenTech already markets Entura nucleic acid purification instruments in Asia, but the collaboration marks its foray into the active development and launch of diagnostic products in that region. China CDC, along with the China-based distributor Team On S&T, will market and sell products developed under the collaboration.
ProGenTech is developing molecular diagnostic assays as well as a fully integrated instrument designed to detect targets related to hospital-acquired infections. In October, it obtained licenses that will allow it to pursue its goal of developing assays for detecting HAIs, such as MRSA, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and Clostridium difficile.