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Singulex, CHDI Collaborate on Biomarkers for Huntington's Disease

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Singulex today announced a collaboration with the CHDI Foundation to use the company's technology to develop biomarkers for Huntington's disease. 

The collaboration will leverage Singulex's Erenna Immunoassay system to develop the biomarkers to further research into the disease, Singulex said. It noted a study published this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that described the development of a new assay with the Singulex SMC Technology Erenna Immunoassay system. The assay is able to detect mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) in the cerebrospinal fluid of HD patients, including some who carry the HD mutation but have not developed any symptoms. 

In addition to finding mHTT in CSF for the first time, the researchers reported that people with more advanced HD had higher levels of the protein, and the concentration of mHTT predicted the severity of movement and cognitive problems in HD patients, Singulex said. 

"We are hopeful that this initial research and our further collaboration with CHDI will lead to the discovery of accepted biomarkers for use in the development and testing of new potential therapies for Huntington's disease," Singulex VP of Life Science Sales and Marketing Paul Wheeler said in a statement. 

The Singulex assay leverages fluorescent antibodies with a laser detection chamber to count single molecules of mHTT with a "very low" detection threshold, the company said. 

Singulex, based in Alameda, Calif., develops and provides single-molecule counting technology for clinical diagnostics and scientific discovery. Its flagship platform is the Erenna system, which is based of the firm's proprietary SMC technology.