Technology Innovation & Leadership 2006 Award Conferred

Frost & Sullivan (Palo Alto, CA, USA), a global growth consulting company, has conferred the 2006 Technology Innovation & Leadership of the Year Award on Genaco Biomedical Products Inc. (Huntsville, Al, USA) and Luminex Corporation (Austin, TX, USA) in the European molecular diagnostics market.

In presenting the award, Frost & Sullivan recognized the contribution the companies have made to infectious disease testing with their Templex technology. Templex is a multiplexing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology that provides rapid, cost-effective, and accurate detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases. The ability to identify future market needs combined with the development of in-house, ground-breaking technologies, especially infectious disease testing, positions Genaco and Luminex as pioneers in molecular diagnostics, noted Frost & Sullivan research analyst Mr. Arun A.K.

Infectious disease testing is a sector with significant potential and is the key area of focus in molecular diagnosis because of the escalating incidence rates of infectious diseases worldwide. While several companies are developing multiplex PCR assays for diagnosis, Genaco and Luminex stand ahead of the competition in the infectious disease testing market with their proprietary Templex technology, which combines Genaco's Tem-PCR technology and Luminex's xMap technology.

Genaco's Tem-PCR is a proprietary multiplex PCR technology that allows for specific and sensitive amplification of multiple molecular targets in a single reaction tube. Luminex's xMap multiplexing technology is a unique combination of flow cytometry, microspheres, lasers, digital signal processing, and traditional chemistry that can be configured to perform a wide variety of bioassays quickly, cost-effectively, and accurately.

Together as Templex, these technologies enable quicker, more cost-effective and accurate detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases. Where traditional testing methods require a separate test for individual antibodies, Templex allows multiple antibodies or other proteins to be tested at one time, which aids in providing specific and effective treatment against a particular pathogen.

With Templex, up to 20 different tests can be performed simultaneously, resulting in 20 test results at the cost of, and within the time of, a single test. While there is a minimal increase in the reagent cost, Templex tests provide fast and accurate results at a competitive price, when compared to other available tests in the market.
After creating an initial niche in the research market, Genaco and Luminex are now set to enter the diagnostic laboratories market and commercialize Templex in the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) sector.

Genaco was acquired in October 2006 by Qiagen N.V. (Hilden, Germany) a provider of innovative technologies and products for pre-analytic sample preparation and molecular diagnostics solutions. Qiagen will leverage the Templex technology to provide new and innovative molecular diagnostics solutions to its customers in molecular diagnostics, applied testing, and clinical research.

Luminex's xMap technology is currently being used in various areas including clinical diagnostics and drug discovery. The company is actively involved in developing 400-plex from its current 100-plex to meet the growing demands of a research laboratory. xMAP has been adopted by major companies developing new diagnostic kits in the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market, including Bio-Rad, Qiagen, One Lambda, Tepnel Lifecodes, and Abbott Molecular.


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