eGene Completes Successful Study of Rapid and Inexpensive Detection of H5N1 Avian Flu Strain with Primers from Genome Institute of Singapore

eGene, Inc., a leading bioengineering company and developer of a compact and automated digital genetic analyzer, today announced that it had recently, using H5N1 avian influenza primers provided by the Genome Institute of Singapore, completed a successful application study that demonstrated that eGene's HDA-GT12 Genetic Analyzer can successfully detect H5N1 avian influenza to as few as 10 viral RNA copies.

The purpose of the study was to analyze the viability of developing a rapid, highly sensitive and low cost mass screening approach to detect the H5N1 influenza (bird flu) virus using a single step RT-PCR and automated HDA-GT12™ system.

The resulting report indicated that the HDA system, in combination with the Institute's single step RT-PCR assay, is a simple and sensitive assay for H5N1 avian influenza detection that can detect as few as 10 copies of the viral RNA. Furthermore, the sample analysis rate in the HDA system is approximately two samples per minute, so a total of 96 samples in a 96-well plate can be analyzed in 50 minutes. The calculated test cost of HDA-GT12 system is less than a dollar per sample (US), making it ideal for mass screening. The eGene system can also be used as a portable H5N1 avian influenza detection tool in field operations, since collected digital data and analyzed results can be stored and transferred in electronic format.

"The spread of avian influenza is still a major concern in the world," said Dr. Ming S. Liu, chief executive officer of eGene. "Continuous outbreaks of this highly pathogenic strain could unleash a pandemic that would have the potential to be as deadly to the population as the epidemic strain of influenza was in 1918. A fast, sensitive and low cost analysis to identify the contamination of the viral RNA in the poultry market can be one of the key factors to prevent the mass spread of the virus. We are pleased that eGene has been able to use the Genome Institute's H5N1 primers to develop a powerful and effective tool that may be applicable for bird flu screening."

eGene developed the HDA-GT12™ (high-performance DNA analyzer for genotyping on 12 channels), currently in use at more than 100 hospitals and research centers worldwide. The system analyzes the genetic fingerprints of living organisms through microsatellites, AFLP and RFLP. It performs fast DNA sample screening and high-resolution DNA fragment analysis (2-5bp). The system also analyzes the quality and quantity of total RNA and cRNA, determines the efficiency of cRNA and cDNA amplification reactions, and ensures the quality of fragmented cRNA. The Company sells cartridges that are specific to the type of analysis to be performed. All data is then received in digital form for appropriate transmission and storage.