BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ArcherDX, the leader in next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based gene fusion detection products, announced today the issuance of the first patent for Anchored Multiplex PCR (AMP), the technology that forms the foundation of the company’s products.
AMP is a target enrichment strategy for NGS that enables open-ended capture of target sequences from a single primer. “With AMP, both known and novel gene fusions can be detected and novel fusion partners can be identified by NGS, a limitation of traditional opposing primer-based techniques to prepare libraries for NGS,” says John Iafrate, MD, PhD, co-inventor of AMP and co-founder of ArcherDX. Furthermore, “AMP is uniquely suited for low-input sample types, such as formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples, making this technology particularly useful in clinical settings,” Dr. Iafrate explains.
AMP was developed by Long Phi Le, MD, PhD, Zongli Zheng, PhD and Dr. Iafrate at the Massachusetts General Hospital to detect novel gene fusions in cancer. Drs. Iafrate and Le together with Jason Myers, PhD founded ArcherDX to develop and commercialize targeted NGS assays based on AMP technology. Now, the technology has proven useful to detect multiple other mutation types from both DNA and RNA extracts, allowing for comprehensive mutation profiling from a single low-input clinical specimen. ArcherDX is rapidly expanding its AMP-based Archer® product line, now providing assays to detect variants in circulating tumor DNA derived from liquid biopsies (Reveal ctDNA 28) and to sequence the T-cell receptor repertoire (Immunoverse TCR), in addition to the multitude of VariantPlex and FusionPlex® kits that detect mutations in DNA and RNA, respectively.
The patent for AMP, U.S. Patent No. 9,487,828, was issued on November 8, 2016 to The General Hospital Corporation and is exclusively licensed to ArcherDX. This news comes just 3 years after ArcherDX was founded. “Recognition and protection of this innovative approach to NGS-based mutation detection will foster more effective communication and collaboration for ongoing assay development and will ultimately lead to improved dissemination of AMP-based NGS assays in a variety of research areas and clinical settings,” says Dr. Myers, CEO and co-founder of ArcherDX.
About ArcherDX, Inc.
ArcherDX addresses the bottlenecks associated with using NGS in translational research by offering a robust platform for targeted sequencing applications.
Archer’s targeted NGS assays generate highly enriched sequencing libraries to detect gene fusions, SNVs, indels and CNVs. Accompanied by the Archer Analysis suite of bioinformatics software, Archer’s technology dramatically enhances complex mutation identification and discovery.
With product portfolios encompassing applications in gene fusions, DNA copy number, immune repertoire profiling, and liquid biopsy research, ArcherDX continues to lead in the development of high-impact applications in cancer research.
For more information, visit http://ArcherDX.com/
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SOURCE ArcherDX
