Microarray platform expanded to include array-based genomics research in the expectation that ChIP-on-chip and new cancer research technologies will grwo rapidly
Agilent Technologies has announced plans to expand its microarray platform to include new applications in array-based genomics research.
These applications hold promise for disease research, drug discovery and drug development.
In related announcements, Agilent has announced the acquisition of Computational Biology, plans for a collaborative research centre in Cambridge, USA, and a breakthrough cancer research technology published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). ChIP-on-chip is a microarray-based technique for understanding gene regulation in disease.
It uses chromatin immuno-precipitation (ChIP) to discover how regulatory proteins interact with the genome of living cells.
Regulatory proteins bind to genomic DNA to control chromosome replication and gene activity, thereby functioning as switches in the regulatory circuitry of cells.
This circuitry is largely uncharted; its discovery will help researchers develop new drugs in areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and central nervous system disorders.
"We expect that emerging applications in ChIP-on-chip analysis and comparative genomics will grow to become 10%, or at least $100 million, of the total microarray market by 2007," said Fran DiNuzzo, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Integrated Biology Solutions business.
"The reason for that growth is the scientific impact these two technologies can have on medical research, particularly in the area of cancer".
Through its acquisition of Computational Biology, Agilent has acquired exclusive access to what it says is a critical patent (US 6,410,243) relating to ChIP-on-chip technology.
The founders of the company, Richard Young and David Gifford of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will collaborate with Agilent to commercialise ChIP-on-chip solutions.
Array-based comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) is a technique for studying chromosomal changes in cancer.
As cancerous cells multiply, they undergo increasingly dramatic chromosomal changes, including chromosome loss, duplication, and the translocation of DNA from one chromosome to another.
Scientists from Agilent, in collaboration with the US National Human Genome Research Institute, published a December paper in PNAS about a new microarray platform for comparative genomics.
This platform overcomes for the first time several scientific hurdles that have impeded comparative genomic studies of cancer.
