Hercules, CA — December 10, 2013 — Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. today announced the release of its PrimePCR assays for Droplet Digital PCR systems (www.bio-rad.com/PrimePCR — available in the U.S., Canada, and E.U. only). This release expands Bio-Rad's current offering by an additional 46 mutation detection assays and 323 copy number assays. In addition, the existing set of gene expression qPCR primer-only assays can now be used with the recently launched QX200™ Droplet Digital PCR system, featuring EvaGreen detection capabilities.
The new ddPCR assays are the only predesigned and fully wet-lab validated assays for digital PCR, alleviating the burden placed on researchers of design and experimental optimization and offering precision and sensitivity without a standard curve. The assays enable novel research strategies and accelerate discovery for inherited disorders, cancer, and infectious diseases.
Many methods for mutation analysis offer poor selectivity and fail to detect mutation events with abundances of less than one in 100 wild-type sequences. Bio-Rad’s ddPCR technology provides an absolute measure of target DNA molecules, and together with the PrimePCR mutation detection assays, can enable the detection of one mutant molecule in the background of 100,000 wild-type sequences (0.001%). Measuring these extremely low levels of mutation abundance can lead to dramatically more sensitive and less invasive diagnostics.
Current methods, including qPCR and next-generation sequencing, also lack the resolution needed to accurately analyze copy number variation (CNV). Due to their high precision and absolute measurement capability, ddPCR assays enable the quantitative discrimination required to resolve small-fold changes in gene copy numbers. ddPCR assays can also be used to detect subsequent changes in the expression of target genes.
PrimePCR ddPCR assays are available in multiple reaction sizes and are compatible with both the QX100 and QX200 platforms using the ddPCR supermix for probes.
For more information on Bio-Rad’s PrimePCR products, please visit www.bio-rad.com/PrimePCR. PrimePCR is currently available in the U.S., Canada, and E.U. only.
About Bio-Rad
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb) has been at the center of scientific discovery for 60 years, manufacturing and distributing a broad range of products for life science research and clinical diagnostic markets. The company is renowned
for its commitment to quality and customer service among university and research institutions, hospitals, public health and commercial laboratories, as well as the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and food safety industries. Founded in 1952, Bio-Rad is based in Hercules, California, and serves more than 100,000 research and industry customers through its global network of operations. The company employs approximately 7,600 people worldwide and had revenues exceeding $2 billion in 2012. Visit us at www.bio‑rad.com.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “intend,” “estimate,” “continue,” or similar expressions or the negative of those terms or expressions. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. For further information regarding the Company's risks and uncertainties, please refer to the “Risk Factors” in the Company’s public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect an analysis only and speak only as of the date hereof. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. is licensed by Life Technologies Corporation to sell reagents containing SYBR® Green I for use in real-time PCR, for research purposes only.
For more information contact:
Viresh Patel
Bio-Rad
925-474-8602
Viresh_Patel@bio-rad.com
Ken Li
Chempetitive Group
312-997-2436 x 112
kli@chempetitive.com