Technology is used to create RNA and DNA standards for molecular assays.
Asuragen granted BD nonexclusive, worldwide rights to incorporate Armored RNA® technology into its in vitro molecular diagnostics products. Under the terms of the agreement Asuragen will develop and supply reagents for BD Diagnostics in Asuragen’s cGMP manufacturing facility.
Armored RNA is a franchise technology jointly invented and developed by Asuragen and Cenetron Diagnostics for creating RNA and DNA standards for molecular diagnostic assays. Armored RNA has been incorporated into most HIV and HCV commercially available diagnostic assays that measure viral load and consequently is the leading internal control for infectious disease molecular diagnostic IVD assays, according to Asuragen.
The technology encapsulates RNA standards in a protective protein coat, assuring their integrity during long-term storage and “armors” the RNA standard against the hazards of nucleases in patient samples. RNA standards are essential to quantitative molecular diagnostic assays, and maintaining their integrity is crucial to obtaining accurate, reliable results.
Asuragen recently released Armored RNA Quant®, the next generation of quantitative standards. It contains a precisely quantified copy number of a specific target and is referenced to a National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) traceable phosphate standard. Armored RNA Quant can be used to construct standard curves for quantitation and as an internal quantitative sample calibrator for infectious disease and oncology testing. Asuragen has been introducing the technology into the oncology market and is developing it as an international inter-laboratory control standard for minimal residual disease testing.
