Seegene Announces New Real-Time Multiplex Diagnostic Technology

Seegene announced that it will unveil TOCE™, a new platform technology for real-time PCR, at the 2011 Clinical Lab Expo of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), booth #1653.

TOCE™ is a novel technology for melting curve analysis. The method is readily utilizable for organism identification and the detection of mutations in clinical samples. Until now, melting curve analysis has been constrained by several inherent limitations - namely, constrained probe design, the inability to extensively and efficiently multiplex, and high sensitivity of the melting curves (Tm) due to sequence variation of the probe site.

TOCE technology overcomes these limitations, providing:

• Mutiplexing in a single fluorescence channel: TOCE technology is able to screen and identify multiple pathogens simultaneously in a single fluorescence channel.
• Consistency in Tm value no matter the sequence variation: In case of Influenza A, Human rhinovirus and Human adenovirus virus that have high sequence variation, it is only at the maximum of 13oC that sequence differences can be observed using melting curve analysis. In contrast, TOCE technology is not affected by sequence variations, thereby guaranteeing consistent Tm values.
• As sensitive as singleplex real-time PCR: TOCE technology provides the same level of sensitivity as probe-based singleplex real-time PCR.
• Identical efficiency between single infection and co-infection:
  With TOCE technology amplifying multiple pathogens is as efficient as single pathogen amplification.
• Cross-platform compatibility: TOCE-based tests can be used with real-time instruments currently in use in the clinical laboratory, enabling healthcare organizations to leverage existing laboratory investment.

Dr. Jong-Yoon Chun, Chief Executive Officer of Seegene, said, 'TOCE technology will open new opportunities for detecting different, and more types of infectious diseases, such as MTB, respiratory infections, and STIs, and genetic mutations. Furthermore, it will enable multiplex real-time PCR to be more widely used in molecular diagnostics.'

Seegene will begin introducing TOCE in its lineup of multiplex diagnostic tests. The first application of TOCE will be a respiratory test that simultaneously detects 16 respiratory viruses and 5 pneumonic bacteria, and a test for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that simultaneously detects 7 pathogens.