Clinical diagnostic to detect respiratory viruses
Calfornian biotech company Nanogen is developing new analyte specific reagents (ASRs) for clinical reference laboratories to develop and validate a single test to detect six of the most common respiratory viruses.
Calfornian biotech company Nanogen is developing new analyte specific reagents (ASRs) for clinical reference laboratories to develop and validate a single test to detect six of the most common respiratory viruses.
Instead of testing for multiple viruses using individual tests, clinical laboratories could utilize Nanogen's gene-based respiratory viral ASRs to develop their own test for influenza A, influenza B, human parainfluenza 1, human parainfluenza 2, human parainfluenza 3 and respiratory syncytial virus A/B in a single panel. The ASRs also provide laboratories with the capability to develop a test that can detect dual infections, which previously required additional time and tests. The NanoChip respiratory viral ASRs will be available to high complexity CLIA-certified clinical reference laboratories in the US in 2005. The ASRs incorporate multiplexing technology developed by Prodesse.
'Nanogen is entering the large marketplace for infectious disease with a highly sensitive, rapid approach that far exceeds the capabilities of standard culture-based tests,' said Howard Birndorf, Nanogen chairman and chief executive officer of Nanogen. 'We plan an aggressive marketing launch in 2005, when the combination of our respiratory viral ASRs and the NanoChip 400 can provide clinical laboratories with an advanced diagnostic platform for improving healthcare.'