Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Primera Biosystems Introduces ViraQuant™ – The First Multiplexed Quantitative Viral Test for the Simultaneous Detection of CMV, EBV, BKV, HHV6 and HHV7

Mansfield, MA — August 23, 2007 — Primera Biosystems, a private company based in Mansfield, MA, is pleased to announce the launch of its ViraQuantTM Multiplexed Viral Test for research and investigational use only, not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Immune suppressed patients who have undergone solid organ transplant, bone marrow transplant, chemotherapy, or have acquired HIV are susceptible to latent viruses that can result in serious viral infection. Due to a suppressed immune system, these viruses which remain latent in healthy individuals emerge. It is important to quantitatively measure the viral loads of these viruses to enable appropriate therapeutic intervention. Equally important it to measure all viruses of interest enabling early detection and detection of viral co-infection. Viruses of concern are cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein Barr virus (EBV), polyoma virus (BKV), human herpes viruses (HHV6 & HHV7).

Primera has developed the ViraQuant multiplexed viral test that simultaneously detects and quantifies the levels of CMV, EBV, BKV, HHV-6 and HHV-7 in blood. ViraQuant utilizes Primera’s STAR (Scalable Target Analysis Routine) technology, a quantitative PCR method allowing up to 60 targets to be measured in a single sample. This high level of multiplexing enables the incorporation of important quantification standards for each virus as well as quality controls for extraction efficiency into one test. These important features can decrease the occurrence of false negatives and increase confidence in results.

Unlike many quantitative PCR methods which require parallel processing of many samples to multiplex, which can increase assay and labor costs, ViraQuant is a true multiplexed assay providing 5 separate results in a single sample. ViraQuant not only provides improved sensitivity, dynamic range and reproducibility compared to current quantitative viral testing methods, can dramatically reduced reagents and labor costs to the lab.

The ViraQuant Multiplexed Viral Test provides all of the reagents and primers needed in a ready to use format. The assay can be performed on Primera’s STACE (Semi-automated Thermal cycler And Capillary Electrophoresis) Platform.

Contacts: Primera Biosystems
1-508-618-2313
Darren Lee
SVP Corporate Development
[email protected]

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