Up until now, Agencourt's main focus has been on DNA sequencing and sample prep. Cogenics, which has facilities in four countries, also provides genotyping, gene-expression analysis, biological efficacy and safety testing, and a biobanking facility.
The technology that Transgenomic has licensed is a variation of standard PCR technology that enriches mutations in samples where normal DNA predominates.
The company plans to move ahead with assay development projects for diagnosing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and for detecting KRAS mutations in colorectal, lung, and pancreatic cancer.
The firm said it only has enough cash to fund its operations through March, and it is evaluating a number of options including the sale of non-core assets or another financing.
Kelvin Droegemeier, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, is the new acting director of the US National Science Foundation.
Wired reports the University of California, Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute has transformed itself into a diagnostic lab to run SARS-CoV-2 tests.
In Nature this week: direct-capture Perturb-seq approach for combinatorial single-cell CRISPR screens, potential uses of genome-editing in breeding crops, and more.
