NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Bio-Rad has signed a supply and distribution agreement with Oslo-based firm Genetic Analysis for an assay to detect imbalances in the gut microbiome.
Genetic Analysis manufactures a CE-marked gut microbiota test called GA-Map for detecting bacterial imbalances to diagnose and manage conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
"With the GA-map technology, we will be able to offer products that can analyze the microbiome associated with gut dysbiosis, which affects the quality of life of many patients around the world and can result in serious health problems," said John Hertia, executive vice president of Bio-Rad and president of the firm's clinical diagnostics group.
The firms said in a statement that recent success with the dysbiosis test has also triggered a further investment and development agreement for additional microbiome tests.
Ronny Hermansen, CEO of Genetic Analysis, noted that during the past year the body of evidence supporting the use of GA-map has grown considerably. "Bio-Rad has the market knowledge and necessary resources to accelerate the uptake of this technology by clinicians worldwide," Hermansen said, adding that Generic Analysis anticipates further developing its product portfolio with Bio-Rad's continued support.
GA-map uses 16S rRNA amplification and a number of proprietary technologies, according to Genetic Analysis' website. These include its ProbeTool software program to find combinations of DNA probes that can be used in the test, a unique universal primer pair, a novel probe labeling method to obtain relative quantities of bacteria, and a database combining microbiota array data and patient health profiles.