Ensembl 80

AusDiagnostics has released a new in vitro diagnostic kit that detects dermatophytes and other fungi. According to the firm, the new kit will produce a result in four hours, allowing medical professionals to advise their patients on the best course of treatment. AusDiagnostics said that the kit detects species of Microsporum, Trichophyton, and Epidermophyton, as well as typing six common dermatophytes and six Candida speices. 

HTG Molecular today launched its HTG EdgeSeq Reveal software. According to the firm, the software streamlines biomarker data analysis from samples analyzed with the HTG EdgeSeq Precision Immuno-Oncology Panel on its EdgeSeq system. When used with the panel, the software allows applications including immunophenotyping of tumor infiltration lymphocytes, monitoring of immunotherapy response biomarkers, and elucidating immune-escape mechanisms know to drive disease progression. The firm noted that users will be able to conduct molecular profiling using a wide variety of sample types, potentially allowing them to support translational applications and determine potential biomarkers for companion diagnostic development. 

NRGene and Macrogen have launched a joint sequencing-based genotyping service called ArrayMagic, which the firms said provides ultra-high-density SNP genotying at a low cost per datapoint. As part of the service, the team will launch a dedicated website to advise customers on how to send samples to Macrogen. The partners then employ a sequencing library prep method, developed by iGenomX, to create an ultra-low coverage sequencing dataset for each sample. NRGene then applies its database and analytical tools to impute a high-resolution SNP set from the data. 

Asuragen said today that it has launched its AmplideX PCR/CE HTT kit. The tool detects CAG trinucleotide repeats within the HTT gene, which are linked to the development of Huntington disease. According to the firm, the kit offers a streamlined, single-well PCR workflow that allows researchers to detect and size expansions with greater than 200 CAG repeats in about six hours. The kit provides all necessary reagents to size the expansion using 10 ng of DNA isolated from whole blood samples. The assay also addresses sample zygosity and preserves the CAG repeat profile in the presence of adjacent SNPs. The assay runs on Thermo Fisher Scientific Applied Biosystems Genetic Analyzers, including the 3130, 3500, and 3700 platforms.

Twist Bioscience is now offering to synthesize genes up to five kilobases in length for $0.15 per base pair and with a turnaround time of 15 to 25 days. In addition, the company is making its Twist Application Programming Interface (TAPI) available to all customers ordering synthetic DNA.

Contextual Genomics, a Vancouver, Canada-based cancer genomics company, said that it has completed development of two new products: an improved version of its Find It hotspot panel for detection of genomic mutations in solid tumour cancers; and its Follow It hotspot panel for detection of the same genomic mutations in blood plasma.

The Find It panel now screens for 146 somatic genome alterations found in solid tumor cancers to identify optimal therapeutic treatments and recognize acquired drug resistance mutations. The assay is supported by Contextual's cloud-based genome analysis engine (CGIRP).

The Follow It panel screens for cell-free circulating tumour DNA in plasma, and is designed to  be used in patients with widespread metastatic disease at diagnosis and as a time series monitoring tool to read out tumor burden and treatment resistance. Follow It will screen for all of the same somatic genome alterations as Find It and can be used to follow disease progression for patients, including those whose tumors were initially tested with Find It.

Viracor Eurofins recently launched its 16S Next-Generation Sequencing Bacterial Meningitis test. The assay amplifies the 16S gene utilizing PCR, followed by NGS to identify and report the bacterial pathogen in a patient's CSF sample. The assay was validated to include the most common bacterial pathogens associated with meningitis: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Strep), and Escherichia coli, as well as other less common pathogens that may be clinically important in immunocompromised patient populations (HIV-positive, solid organ transplant, or hematopoietic cell transplant patients). Physicians will receive test results for difficult-to-diagnose immunocompromised patients within three business days from specimen receipt, the company said.