Solutions will cover sample prep, pre-amplification, and nucleic acid detection from small, degraded samples.
WaferGen Biosystems and NuGen Technologies will co-develop and co-market products for gene expression profiling and target enrichment. The aim is to enable researchers to more easily achieve high-throughput, high-density real-time PCR with small, degraded, and hard-to-replace clinical specimens such as FFPE tissue.
The companies plan on conducting joint product development projects using both NuGen’s sample-preparation and isothermal linear amplification (SPIA®) products and the WaferGen SmartChip Real-Time PCR System. The projects will focus on solutions for sample preparation, pre-amplification, and nucleic acid detection for gene expression and target enrichment from various sample types to drive speed and simplicity.
SmartChip is designed to allow discovery and validation of biomarkers on a single platform. “This will expand the market potential of our SmartChip System by offering ready-to-go applications for biomarker discovery, validation, and screening,” says Alnoor Shivji, chairman and CEO of WaferGen. He states that the two companies can offer a simple and straightforward workflow solution for single-cell analysis, archival tissues, and next-generation sequencing.