NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Expression Analysis said today it will offer gene expression-profiling services using NuGen’s WT-Ovation system with formalin fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues.
Expression Analysis said the deal, which will rely on its whole transcriptome-amplification technology, gives it exclusive rights to use NuGen’s system until it is commercially launched.
Expression Analysis CEO Steve McPhail said that profiling generally uses fresh samples because “RNA samples isolated from FFPE blocks are usually so degraded that expression profiling is impossible.”
McPhail said the NuGen system can generate useful targets from such samples.
Expression Analysis said it recently helped to optimize the WT-Ovation and validated it using RNA specimens from FFPE tissues that were stored over varying lengths of time.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.