TessArae introduces new integrated product solutions for testing human genetic disease

Nov 10 2009

TessArae® LLC, a global leader in resequencing microarray-based applications, announces the launch of new integrated product solutions for genetic testing of the mutations that underlie human hereditary diseases. The combination of TessArae's expertise in microarray-based resequencing with novel nucleotide sequence basecalling algorithms and analysis software enables screening for all targeted mutations in multiple genes of a syndrome or disorder simultaneously. This dramatically reduces total testing cost and time-to-result without compromising test accuracy and usability for providers of genetic testing services. The first solution, offered by GeneDx (Gaithersburg, MD), is for Noonan Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes abnormal development of multiple parts of the body. "Implementation of the custom-designed resequencing solution from TessArae, which simultaneously detects all known mutations and screens for missense mutations in eight genes of the RAS/MAPK pathway, allows GeneDx to offer a more comprehensive test than we could previously, yet at significantly lower cost and with much faster turnaround time," states John Compton, Ph.D., Co-President and Scientific Director of GeneDx. "Based on the successful integration of this technology into our laboratory workflow, we plan to offer TessArae-developed resequencing microarray-based testing for Periodic Fever Syndromes in the immediate future." According to Klaus Schafer, M.D., MPH, President and CEO of TessArae, "The human genetic disease testing market represents a new opportunity for us. Our resequencing microarray-based solution is ideally positioned, from both a cost and time-to-result perspective, between conventional and next-gen DNA sequencing technologies, and will generate significant revenue as the genetic testing market grows."