New Products Posted to GenomeWeb: Nov 6, 2015

NanoString nCounter PanCancer Profiles

NanoString Technologies has expanded its 3D Biology portfolio with the launch of its nCounter PanCancer profiles, seven new gene expression panels. Each panel is designed to interrogate a focused area of cancer biology, including adaptive immunity, cancer metabolism, intracellular signaling, cellular profiling, Wnt pathway, innate immunity, and DNA damage and repair. Each 192-gene panel includes 180 topic-specific probes and 12 universal housekeeping genes. The panels may be combined with nCounter protein expression modules to enable a deeper view of biology through simultaneous analysis of gene and protein expression in key areas of interest to cancer biologists including immuno-oncology researchers, NanoString said in a statement. 

BioMérieux GeneUp

BioMérieux has announced the launch of a PCR-based molecular diagnostic system for customers in the agri-food sector enabling the detection of microorganisms. Called Gene Up, the platform was co-developed with its BioFire Defense business and has an expanding menu that now includes commonly tested pathogens in the food chain, such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria. The open platform is also suited to run tests manufactured by CEERAM, a company acquired by BioMérieux in December of 2014, for viruses including norovirus and hepatitis A virus. 

Horizon Discovery has launched cell free DNA HDx Reference Standards. The new reference standards support the development and optimization of cfDNA assays, which are emerging as an important tool for non-invasive liquid biopsies. Created from engineered cell lines, cfDNA Reference Standards are available in both singleplex and multiplex format with cancer-relevant mutations including BRAF, EGFR, KRAS, NRAS, and PIK3CA. They consist of human genomic DNA fragmented to 160 bp, representative of plasma-derived cfDNA, and are provided as a set of precisely defined allelic frequencies from as low as 0.1 percent. These standards are able to feed directly into any cfDNA workflow from whole-genome, whole-exome, or amplicon-based NGS sequencing to qPCR and ddPCR platforms. Applications include assay validation, establishing standard curves, quantifying background noise, and defining the limit of detection of a workflow, Horizon Discovery said in a statement.