NHLBI selects NuGEN to provide automated reagent solutions for expression profiling

NuGEN^® Technologies, the provider of innovative RNA and DNA amplification and sample preparation technologies for genomic analysis, today announced it has been selected by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to provide automated reagent solutions for expression profiling of approximately 6,000 blood samples from the Framingham Heart Study.

“NuGEN is proud that our solutions will facilitate the association of genetic risk factors to the development of heart disease and other health conditions”

The Framingham Heart Study, initiated in 1948, is one of the most well-recognized epidemiological studies in the world, with an enrollment of more than 15,000 individuals spanning three generations. Because of this landmark study, critical heart disease risk factors including lifestyle, cholesterol, smoking and obesity have already been discovered or confirmed.

Recently, the NHLBI embarked on a new research project, the Systems Approach to Biomarker Research in Cardiovascular Disease Initiative (SABRe CVD Initiative). Project-3 of the SABRe CVD program to measure Gene Expression analysis will deploy cutting-edge genomic technologies to enable exploration on the same valuable collection of samples to further dissect the genetic risk factors associated with various diseases.

"NuGEN is proud that our solutions will facilitate the association of genetic risk factors to the development of heart disease and other health conditions," said Elizabeth Hutt, chief executive officer of NuGEN. "We're pleased the NHLBI has selected NuGEN's proprietary reagents for such an important endeavor and it is our mission to partner closely with the Initiative to make the program a success."

NuGEN's automated sample preparation solutions, including the Ovation® Pico WTA System and Encore™ Biotin Module, will allow researchers to examine critical molecular markers in the microarray-based expression profiling portion of the SABRe CVD Initiative.

"The genetic information from the well-characterized samples collected by the Framingham Heart Study has the potential to impact human health and our understanding of cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Doug Amorese, vice president of research and development at NuGEN. "In the past, much of this genomic information has been inaccessible because the reagent solutions and analytical tools have not been available, have not had sufficient through-put or have been inconsistent in performance. With NuGEN's sample preparation solutions, researchers can now explore samples in large repositories with confidence and further develop associations between disease states and genomic markers."