The US based BioServe, a leader in processing, development, and validation of diagnostic tests, has been selected by Houston-based Specialized Clinical Centre of Research (SCCOR) for a study to identify the genetic cause of thoracic aortic disease. The SCCOR is a collaborative programme by University of Texas Health Science Centre Houston, Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas Medical Branch. BioServe has headquarters in Beltsville, Maryland and Hyderabad, India.

Explaining about the study Kevin Krenitsky, CEO of BioServe told Pharmabiz, "This project will start this month itself and the initial phase of the project will take place in Housten at the SCCOR. "We are excited to partner with the Houston SCCOR on this significant genetic study of thoracic aortic disease. Our work with the Houston SCCOR will contribute to the genetic understanding of a debilitating disease, and provide the foundation for improved risk assessment and early intervention, taking us a step closer to a personalised medicine regimen," he stated.

Talking to Pharmabiz Dr Naseer, chief technical officer of BioServe Biotechnolgies (India) Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, said, "The initial phase of the study will take approximately one year. The second phase of the study will involve fine mapping studies that can be performed at BioServe India on the Sequenom platform. This phase will serve to validate and refine the findings of the initial whole genome scans done at SCCOR." "Regarding the study result, it is hoped that the data will be presented to US FDA in an eighteen to twenty four months barring any delays," Naseer added.

Under the terms of agreement, BioServe will provide the SCCOR researchers with access to certain unique sample sets from its global repository of over 600,000 human DNA, tissue and serum samples linked to detailed clinical and demographic data to assist in identifying genes that are predictive of the development and progression of thoracic aortic diseases. Thoracic aortic disease is the 15th leading cause of death in the US, with aortic dissections being the 13th leading cause of death in people between the ages of 55 and 64.

"Through this landmark study we hope to define DNA sequence variants in a few target genes and their interacting environmental risk factors that are responsible for a significant proportion of the thoracic aortic diseases. By identifying the underlying and specific genetic causes of thoracic aortic disease we will provide doctors with the ability to predict which patients are at higher risk of aortic rupture, and treat them earlier," said Xin Li Wang, professor and director of the cardiothoracic research lab in the division of cardiothoracic surgery of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.

"BioServe is an ideal partner for this important study. They provide us with a comprehensive Biobank linked to extensive clinical and demographic data against which to run our diseased case samples and a team highly experienced in running large-scale genetic studies. This unique combination of capabilities will enable us to accelerate our research to find genetic markers predictive of the disease," Wang added.