NEW YORK ─ Eagle Biosciences on Tuesday announced an agreement with Norwegian molecular diagnostics company Genetic Analysis for the distribution of the GA-map Dysbiosis Test in the US and Canada. The test detects and characterizes an imbalance in the gut microbiota using human fecal samples.
Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Nashua, New Hampshire-based Eagle Biosciences, a North American distributor of assay kits and antibodies, said that Genetic Analysis has developed and launched the GA-map platform for routine gut microbiome research and analysis, and the first test on the platform is the GA-map Dysbiosis Test.
The GA-map platform is based on a multiplex approach for the simultaneous analysis of a large number of bacteria in one reaction and uses targeted probes rather than sequencing.
Dan Keefe, Eagle Biosciences' president, said in a statement that the GA-map Dysbiosis Test is a standardized, off-the-shelf biome mapping kit that can be run in any PCR laboratory.
Genetic Analysis has also developed a fecal COVID-19 test that is performed on the same GA-map platform for research into an individual’s COVID-19 status, Eagle Biosciences said.
On Tuesday, Genetic Analysis separately announced that the Norwegian Research Council has awarded it NOK 16 million ($1.9 million) for the development of a microbiome-based diagnostic test for the selection and treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.