NuProbe and Weigao will jointly develop the liquid biopsy NGS panel by leveraging NuProbe's Blocker Displacement Amplification (BDA) technology
NuProbe and Weigao partner to develop liquid biopsy panel. (Credit: Ahmad Ardity from Pixabay.)
US-based molecular diagnostics company NuProbe and China-based medical device company Weigao have partnered to develop a liquid biopsy NGS panel for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The companies will jointly develop the liquid biopsy NGS panel by leveraging NuProbe’s Blocker Displacement Amplification (BDA) technology.
The two companies intend to apply for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) registration with Chinese regulatory agency NMPA for the product, which will compatible with the desktop NGS instruments.
The collaboration aims to promote NGS liquid biopsy products in China
Under the collaboration, the companies will promote NGS liquid biopsy products in China to meet the clinical needs, and improve cancer patient outcomes.
BDA-based liquid biopsy panels are said to offer high sensitivity on affordable and accessible desktop NGS instruments, compared to traditional NGS methods.
The technology is developed to remove the wildtype DNA derived from healthy cells and facilitates the reliable detection of low frequency tumor-specific mutations using low-depth NGS.
BDA technology has been validated in clinical laboratories in both China and the US, and is the basis for various NuProbe products on platforms including qPCR, Sanger sequencing, and nanopore sequencing.
NuProbe CEO Yingshuang Chai said: “Weigao Group is a leading medical device and pharmaceutical company with rich channel resources in China.
“We are very pleased to work with Weigao Group to develop and market a new generation of liquid biopsy products based on the BDA technology.
“At present in China, NGS is not being widely adopted for tumor testing as the PCR technology in hospitals, creating a big gap between supply and demand.
“We believe that through the strong synergy between NuProbe and Weigao Group, we can provide clinicians and patients with unprecedented affordable liquid biopsy testing.”