Nucleic Acid News and Research

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Santaris Pharma paves way to conduct clinical trial of miravirsen in patients with HVC

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today announced that it has advanced miravirsen (SPC3649), the first microRNA-targeted drug to enter clinical trials, into Phase 2 studies to assess the safety and tolerability of the drug in treatment-naive patients infected with the Hepatitis C virus.

22 Sep 2010

Five Prime Therapeutics receives patent for lead oncology product

Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. today announced it has been issued two patents, U.S. Patent No. 7,678,890 and European Patent No.1910542B1, with claims covering various engineered Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor ("FGFR") fusion proteins, including composition of matter claims for its lead oncology product, FP-1039.

21 Sep 2010

Norgen Biotek launches three novel kits for urine sampling

Norgen Biotek Corp, a privately held Canadian biotechnology company focusing principally on advancing a powerful proprietary technology for application in sample preparation for nucleic acid (DNA, RNA and microRNA) and protein purification, today announced the expansion of its basket of urine-based sample preparation products by launching 3 new urine concentration, preservation and isolation kits.

15 Sep 2010

Catch by Gene enters agreement with C&S for HPV test kit

Catch by Gene has entered into an agreement to supply its reagent solutions to C&S Company Ltd commencing immediately in the initial amount of $300,000.

13 Sep 2010

Stratos Genomics closes Series-A financing deal

Stratos Genomics Inc. today announced it has closed a Series-A financing deal of $4 million to continue development of its ultra-low-cost nucleic acid sequencing method for whole genome analysis and molecular diagnostics. The round was led by Fisk Ventures and included Stratos Group LLC.

8 Sep 2010

Bruker announces NIST order for AVANCE III 900 NMR spectrometer

Bruker Corporation, the leader in analytical magnetic resonance instrumentation, today announces a major order from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its ultra-high field AVANCE™ III 900 US2 NMR spectrometer.

7 Sep 2010

Emerald BioStructures, SomaLogic announce strategic collaboration for SOMAmers

Emerald BioStructures, a leading provider of integrated structural biology services, and SomaLogic, Inc., a diagnostics and biomarker discovery company, today announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration for the structure-based design of chemically modified DNA aptamers and small molecule therapeutics, based on crystal structures of important protein targets bound to high affinity SOMAmers.

3 Sep 2010

Asuragen launches KRAS, BRAF mutational testing in CLIA laboratory

Asuragen, Inc., a leader in molecular diagnostics and nucleic acid-based pharmacogenomics services, announced today that it has launched KRAS and BRAF mutational testing services in its CAP-accredited CLIA laboratory.

2 Sep 2010

Pressure BioSciences collaborates with LBNL to analyze microbe for oil spill clean-up

Pressure BioSciences, Inc. today announced a collaboration with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ("LBNL"). Scientists at LBNL are using the Company's pressure cycling technology ("PCT") platform in studies aimed at improving the analysis of microorganisms in environments with low biomass, such as oil reservoirs or deep sea oil plumes from oil spills.

24 Aug 2010

Applied Biosystems 3500 Dx Series Genetic Analyzers now available in Asia Pacific Region

Life Technologies Corporation today announced that its Applied Biosystems 3500 Dx Series Genetic Analyzers, the first CE IVD-marked capillary electrophoresis system for nucleic acid analysis, are now available for sale in Australia, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

23 Aug 2010

Scientists identify compound to inhibit wild-type HIV-1 protease

Drug resistance remains a major problem in combating HIV infection, but a different approach to drug development could be the answer.Current viral inhibitors target the HIV-1 protease function with a competitive mechanism. Writing in the BJ ChemBio Knowledge Environment of the Biochemical Journal, Max Chang and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, suggest that pharmaceutical companies look at compounds that use an allosteric non-competitive mechanism of inhibition.

10 Aug 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals reports significant progress in discovery of novel technologies for systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and collaborators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The University of British Columbia (UBC), AlCana Technologies, Inc., and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, presented results from multiple ongoing research efforts regarding the discovery of novel technologies for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

10 Aug 2010

Akonni Biosystems receives patent for TruTip Extraction Kits

Akonni Biosystems, a developer of low-cost, multiplex molecular diagnostic testing systems, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent on July 20, 2010 for its method for rapidly purifying nucleic acids. U.S. Patent No. 7,759,112 entitled, "Apparatus, system, and method for purifying nucleic acids" protects the Company's use of its pioneering nucleic acid binding matrix when inserted into a pipette tip, tubing or cartridge for nucleic acid purification. The patent is owned by Akonni Biosystems.

6 Aug 2010

SeraCare optimizes ACCURUN 341 Nucleic Acid Positive controls

SeraCare Life Sciences, Inc. today announced that the Company has developed a new series of controls in its ACCURUN portfolio to monitor and validate molecular diagnostic test performance for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (CT/NG). Through collaboration with instrument and reagent manufacturers, SeraCare has optimized the ACCURUN 341 Nucleic Acid Positive controls specifically for use with the three most popular assays currently on the market; the Gen-Probe APTIMA Combo 2 Assay, the Roche COBAS AMPLICOR CT/NG Test, and the Becton, Dickinson BD ProbeTec ET System.

6 Aug 2010

IRIS International closes AlliedPath acquisition

IRIS International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of automated in-vitro diagnostics systems and consumables for use in hospitals and commercial laboratories worldwide, announced today that it has closed the acquisition of AlliedPath, Inc., a private, early stage high complexity, CLIA-certified laboratory focused on oncology and molecular diagnostics.

2 Aug 2010

Bio-Path commences dosing in Liposomal Grb-2 Phase I cancer study

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.,, a biotechnology company with drug development operations in Houston, Texas, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I study of its cancer drug candidate, Liposomal Grb-2 (L-Grb-2 or BP-100-1.01), in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

30 Jul 2010

SurModics, EGEN continue collaboration on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes

SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry and EGEN, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing nucleic acid (DNA and RNAi) therapeutics for the treatment of human diseases, are pleased to announce they have executed a continuation of their feasibility collaboration focused on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes.

28 Jul 2010

Neurodegenerative disease-causing infectious protein can erupt from healthy brain tissue: Study

In a startling new study that involved research on both sides of the Atlantic, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute in Florida and the University College London Institute of Neurology in England have shown for the first time that abnormal prions, bits of infectious protein devoid of DNA or RNA that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease, can suddenly erupt from healthy brain tissue.

27 Jul 2010

Jinfiniti Biosciences moves from clinical studies to developing biomarkers

A new biotech company has grown out of laboratory and clinical studies at the Medical College of Georgia with the goal of improving the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and cancer.

20 Jul 2010

Aduro BioTech announces issuance of two important patents

Aduro BioTech, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, announced today the issuance of two important patents, the formation of a distinguished scientific advisory board, the addition of key members to its Board of Directors, and the reporting of preliminary top line long-term survival data from a Phase 1 clinical trial with 2 year follow-up.

15 Jul 2010