Innovative diagnostic tests in development throughout the State.
EraGen Biosciences Inc., a venture-backed biotechnology company focused on automating molecular diagnostics, today announced the development of an innovative MultiCode diagnostic panel to address a range of clinical and research applications for respiratory diseases to include SARS and Avian Flu.
Because of its advantages over competing methods, MultiCode tests received the recent Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation of the Year. “We are very confident in MultiCode products. Our successful collaborations with respected global clinical laboratories and business partners are proof that MultiCode is a very accurate and rapid means of detection.” said Irene Hrusovsky, MD, President and CEO, EraGen Biosciences. “This, plus the recent closing of our $12 Million round of financing, allows us to further commercialize our company’s patented, expanded genetic alphabet.”
The MultiCode tests are currently being validated at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. These innovative multi-infectious agent panels will minimize the need for traditional culture methods and reduce diagnostic time from weeks to hours. This is a critical factor since many treatments need to be administered within a day or two of onset.
“Collaborative efforts have been on going for a few years now with Wisconsin based infectious disease world leaders,” said Jim Prudent, Ph.D., CSO of EraGen Biosciences, “Our State is in many ways a Center of Excellence when it comes to viral influenza medical research and surveillance.”
Charles Hoslet, managing director of UW-Madison’s Office of Corporate Relations, which facilitates stronger relationships between the university and the business community, said EraGen’s initiative “is yet another great example of the collaborations underway that are putting Wisconsin at the forefront of finding innovative responses to global healthcare challenges.”
Hoslet pointed to the recent announcement of joint private and public support for the new Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on the UW-Madison campus as “the best possible evidence that academic research, discovery, and commercial applications for a better world are truly coming together here in the Madison area.”
James E. Gern, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison will be a sponsored speaker at the EraGen workshop at the 22nd Annual Clinical Virology Symposium later this month.
“We have found MultiCode technology to provide a superior means of scanning for respiratory diseases,” said Dr. Gern. “New respiratory viruses are continuing to be discovered, including new serotypes of coronavirus. The emergence of these new viruses provides a rationale for better antiviral testing.”
Other important on going EraGen collaborations within the State include the BloodCenter of Wisconsin and Promega Corporation.
“BloodCenter of Wisconsin considers EraGen a key partner that enables us in our quest to remain at the cutting-edge of bioscience,” said Brian Curtis, Technical Director, Platelet & Neutrophil Immunology Laboratory, BloodCenter of Wisconsin.
“Promega recently introduced the Plexor technology which provides life science researchers new capability in real-time PCR,” said Doug Storts, Promega R&D Director. Plexor, which was just featured by Promega at the American Association of Cancer Research, was developed out of the collaboration with EraGen.
For more information contact: Regina Reynolds
Director of Corporate Communications
EraGen Biosciences
608-662-9000 ext. 306
rreynolds@eragen.com
