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Weekly UpdatesWaferGen Biosystems, Inc. (OTCBB: WGBS), Fremont, Calif., a leading developer of state-of-the-art genetic analysis systems, has announced the signing of a research collaboration with Duke University Medical Center scientists for WaferGen's SmartChipT Real-Time PCR System. Under terms of the collaboration, the laboratory of Drs. John A. Olson, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., and Jeffrey R. Marks, Ph.D. in the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy at Duke University Medical Center will conduct novel genotyping research projects using the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System in order to validate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are related to breast cancer. Additionally, researchers will aim to examine the impact the validated SNPs have on patients' disease prognosis and response to treatment. While this is the fourth SmartChip research collaboration that WaferGen has entered into with leading U.S. researchers, it is the first to leverage the platform's unique genotyping capabilities for SNP validation.
WaferGen believes that the research conducted as part of this collaboration may lead to the discovery of the relative importance of specific SNPs associated with breast cancer. In turn, this critical genetic information may ultimately provide physicians with new tools for determining appropriate treatments for breast cancer, while also assisting biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in developing novel targeted therapeutics.
"The SmartChip platform's revolutionary nature and significant range of capabilities have enabled WaferGen to establish high-value collaborations with a number of the country's most prestigious research institutions," stated Alnoor Shivji, WaferGen's chairman and chief executive officer. "We are pleased to add Dr. Olson's group at Duke University Medical Center to our growing list of top-tier collaborators and are very excited to have his team leverage the unique genotyping capabilities of the SmartChip platform in the oncology arena. This is a therapeutic area that is of significant interest to WaferGen, as evidenced by the proprietary oncology gene panel assays that we have already developed for use with the SmartChip system."
"We are very pleased to be incorporating the SmartChip platform into the important breast cancer research programs that we are conducting. Particularly valuable for our research team is the fact that the SmartChip system will allow us to run many samples on a single chip, providing extremely fast time to results," said John A. Olson, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Surgery at Duke and a faculty member of Duke's Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy and its Centers for Genomic Medicine and Applied Genomics & Technology. "With the importance of the research that we are conducting in mind, we believe that it is essential to leverage the most advanced tools available."
About the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System
The SmartChip Real-Time PCR SystemT is designed as the first whole genome, high-throughput gene expression real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform. WaferGen believes the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System will be the first platform to combine the high-throughput capability and cost efficiencies of existing microarrays, with the sensitivity and accuracy of real-time PCR. This innovative system, combined with next-generation chemistry and optimized assays being developed by WaferGen, promises to provide industry-leading throughput levels, while offering discovery and validation capabilities in a single step. The result is expected to be the ability to conduct gene expression and genotyping research at a fraction of the time and cost currently produced by existing instrument systems. It is estimated that the genetic analysis market alone (comprised of gene expression and genotyping analysis) had approximately $2.4 billion in worldwide revenues in 2006 ($1.74 billion for gene expression and $650 million for genotyping).
About WaferGen
WaferGen Biosystems, Inc. is a leader in the development, manufacture and sale of state-of-the-art systems for genetic analysis for the life science and pharmaceutical industries. The company is actively developing its SmartChipT product for the gene expression and genotyping markets. SmartChip is being developed as the first whole genome, high throughput gene expression real-time PCR platform. This innovative system, combined with next-generation chemistry and optimized assays being developed by WaferGen, promises to deliver significant speed and cost advantages to researchers in the gene expression and genotyping markets. Based on collaborations established with leading research institutions, WaferGen believes that the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System is positioned as the platform of choice for biomarker discovery and validation. WaferGen currently markets its SmartSlideT family of products to companies and organizations involved in stem cell and cell biology research. SmartSlide represents the first fluidics integrated micro-incubators enabling cell biology and stem cell research.
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