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Assurex to Use Agena's MassArray System For PGx Test

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Agena Bioscience announced today that its MassArray system has been selected by Assurex Health for laboratory setup and sample processing of the GeneSight Psychotropic pharmacogenetic test.

Assurex's GeneSight Psychotropic test analyzes a panel of genetic markers in a cheek swab in order to personalize a patient's antipsychotic and antidepressant medicines. The test was a key driver of Myriad Genetics' acquisition of Assurex in late 2016.

According to Agena, Assurex has already evaluated the MassArray system — which detects genetic variation with end-point PCR and label-free mass spectrometry — using it to run over 150,000 GeneSight tests to date. Under the latest deal, Assurex is expected to significantly increase the number of GeneSight test samples run on the platform, Agena said.

Specific terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

"Pharmacogenomics testing is a foundational application in the sweet spot for targeted genetic analysis on our MassArray system," Agena CEO Pete Dansky said in a statement. The alliance with Assurex is "a significant accelerator into this clinical market segment."

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