ZyGEM and Phthisis Diagnostics to develop products for detecting infectious pathogens

Oct 23 2009

ZyGEM Corp. Ltd. and Phthisis Diagnostics today announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop products enabling the detection of infectious pathogens in complex samples, such as stool, blood and water. The collaboration will harness ZyGEM's advanced enzymatic nucleic acid extraction technology and Phthisis Diagnostics' molecular diagnostic expertise to provide fast, accurate and affordable solutions for obtaining high-quality DNA from infectious pathogens. The first target of the collaboration is extraction of pathogen DNA from stool, a particularly challenging sample.

ZyGEM's technology uses a proprietary thermophilic enzyme to extract DNA from samples using a single closed-tube system. ZyGEM's approach significantly reduces the time and cost of DNA extractions while simplifying laboratory workflow, minimizing error, reducing the risk of contamination, ensuring sample integrity and facilitating extractions from trace samples. It is easily adaptable for use with virtually all off-the-shelf laboratory automation systems. The technology can be specifically formulated for use with a wide range of different sample types without the need for further purification. ZyGEM's technology has been validated for use in research, forensic, diagnostic, agriculture and animal health applications.

"The ability of ZyGEM's unique temperature-controlled DNA extraction technology to work well with a wide range of sample types makes it suitable for use with challenging targets with high unmet need," said Paul Kinnon, CEO of ZyGEM. "We believe the accuracy, simplicity and ease-of-use of our technology make it an especially good fit with the product focus of Phthisis Diagnostics. This new agreement for specialized DNA extraction products is the most recent in a series of ZyGEM collaborations with diverse partners to ensure the availability of our versatile technology for a wide variety of DNA extraction needs, and we look forward to a mutually productive relationship."

Phthisis Diagnostics is an advanced biotechnology company developing sensitive, easy-to-use molecular tests for infectious diseases. "We are committed to developing innovative technologies that provide researchers and clinicians with products to accurately, simply, and cost-effectively perform molecular detection assays, and we believe that access to ZyGEM's distinctive temperature-controlled nucleic acid extraction technology will help advance that goal," said Crystal R. Icenhour, Ph.D., President and Director of Research at Phthisis Diagnostics. "We look forward to incorporating ZyGEM's unique technology into our molecular diagnostic product line, as this technology will facilitate our goal to improve infectious disease diagnostic accuracy and ease-of-use in challenging matrices."