Manchester, 9 December 2008, DxS, a personalised medicine company and market leaders in the provision of companion diagnostics has announced the expansion of its Product Development Team in response to a marked rise in demand for its cancer diagnostics kits in 2008. The Company has significantly increased its number of Research and Development staff in the final quarter of the year from four at the start of the year to eight, and plans to recruit a further five more Product Development Scientists in the next month.
The expansion of the Product Development team builds on DxS’ continued growth in 2008 which has so far seen DxS greatly increase manufacturing capacity and acquire new premises in response to the dramatic increase in demand for its diagnostic and research mutation test kits.
David Whitcombe, Chief Scientific Officer at DxS said, “The quality and range of our products is centrally based upon the innovation and experience of our Development Team. Our scientists are dedicated to ensuring that we remain the market leaders in our field and lead the way in developing novel assays for the future”.
Dr. Simon Flint joined DxS from the University of Sussex and brought with him a background in post-doctoral academic research in molecular biology and biochemical techniques specialising in translation initiation and antibiotic biosynthesis. Dr. Sarah Gray started in October with a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Sarah has a wealth of research experience and specialises in DNA extraction and PCR techniques.
In November Ian Riley and Dr. Elloise Garside joined the Company. Ian has eleven years of experience at AstraZeneca, focusing on DNA sequencing and real-time PCR methods within the Clinical Genotyping Group. Elloise joined from the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre at the University of Manchester where she was a Post-Doctoral Research Associate. Prior to that Elloise worked as a Medical Writer at Pyxis Medical Communications.
Rachael Carters worked as a member of the DxS Service Team during her Industrial Placement year as part of a BSc in Biology at the University of Manchester. Responsible for the development of new assays and project work comparing DxS’ Scorpions® real-time PCR technology with other molecular beacons, Rachael’s aptitude for the role was rewarded when she was offered a permanent position in Product Development after she graduated in July 2008.
The central importance of an active product pipeline and DxS’ commitment to the development of groundbreaking new assays was confirmed in November when DxS launched a brand new PI3K Mutation Test Kit based on their real-time PCR technology Scorpions and ARMS®. Further new assays are in development for launch in 2009.
Photographs of members of the Product Development Team are available on request.
About DxS
DxS is a personalised medicine company providing molecular diagnostics to aid doctors and drug companies in selecting therapies for patients. Working in partnership with pharmaceutical companies to support the development and sales of targeted cancer therapies by providing biomarkers and companion diagnostics.
DxS has a continually expanding portfolio of cancer mutation products. The TheraScreen® range of CE-marked clinical diagnostic kits can identify genetic tumour mutations that affect how patients respond to cancer therapies, thus enabling doctors to provide the most beneficial treatment. DxS produce two clinical diagnostic kits, K-RAS and EGFR-29.
The TheraScreen: K-RAS Mutation kit is a companion diagnostic for Vectibix® (Amgen) and Erbitux® (Merck KGaA) for the treatment of colorectal cancer. DxS has an exclusive global distribution agreement with Roche Diagnostics for the distribution of the TheraScreen: K-RAS and TheraScreen: EGFR29 Mutation kits.
DxS’ pioneering real-time PCR technology Scorpions® is highly regarded for its proven speed and sensitivity, and is combined with ARMS (allele specific PCR) to develop each unique DxS product. This class-leading technology is also available for licence to diagnostic companies, for research, or for other varied applications.
DxS is a private, venture capital-backed company operating from the heart of Manchester’s Technology Quarter in the UK.
For further information please visit www.dxsdiagnostics.com.
