The Rockville, MD-based Seegene, a biotechnology company specializing in molecular diagnostics and research applications, recently introduced seeplex 18-plex genotyping test, a novel diagnostic test capable of simultaneously detecting 18 different human respiratory infections in a single test.
The seeplex 18-plex respiratory test will robustly detect 11 different respiratory RNA viruses, 2 DNA viruses and 5 pneumonia bacteria from samples including nasopharyngeal aspirates, nasopharyngeal swabs and bronchoalveolar lavage, a company press release said.
By enabling healthcare personnel to test 18 different pathogens at the cost of a single pathogen test, seeplex 18-plex respiratory test is expected to break the mold of a 'single pathogen, single test' testing regime and high false positives/negatives results associated with conventional multiplexing. Traditional tests, such as viral culture and Ag-Ab test are laborious, time consuming and cost inefficient. The seeplex 18-plex respiratory test eliminates these drawbacks by multiplexing without cross reactivity and achieving rapid test results at a minimal cost per test, thus setting a new standard for the most economical method of choice for molecular diagnostics of respiratory infections, the company press release added.
According to the company, seeplex 18-plex respiratory test will detect influenza viruses A and B, human respiratory syncytial viruses A and B, human parainfluenzae viruses 1, 2 and 3, human corona viruses 229E/NL63 and OC43/HKU1, human rhinovirus, human enterovirus, human adenovirus, human bocavirus, legionella pneumoniae, streptococcus pneumoniae, chlamydophila pneumoniae, haemophilus influenzae and mycoplasma pneumoniae.
The seeplex 18-plex respiratory test aspires to become an essential tool for active surveillance and treatment of respiratory illnesses. The use of this new diagnostic test enables healthcare personnel to rapidly determine whether a patient's respiratory ailment is caused by a virus or bacteria and subsequently prescribe the best course of treatment whether an antibiotic, antiviral or bed rest.
"Our new 18-plex respiratory test is what the clinical healthcare industry has been asking for - the ability to routinely test for a wide spectrum of respiratory pathogens in a single test, at the price of a single pathogen test. Like our other commercially available tests, notably the recently introduced 18-plex test for human papillomaviruses, our new respiratory test is simply performed with one multiplex PCR in a single tube and capillary electrophoresis for automated detection of pathogens. These tests use Seegene's proprietary dual priming oligo (DPO) primer system, ensuring test reproducibility, specificity and sensitivity," said, Jong-Yoon Chun, founder and chief executive officer, Seegene.
Frontier of multi-pathogen detection, seeplex is a breakthrough multiplexing PCR technology that enables a new standard in simultaneous multi-pathogen detection.