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PlexPress commercialises VTT’s method for gene expression analysis
23.10.2007
Business activities in Silicon Valley under way
PlexPress Oy, a Finnish spin-off company of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, will commercialise a method developed by VTT for high-throughput, high-content gene expression analysis. The technology is especially suitable for medical research and clinical diagnostics where there is a need to accurately analyze a focused set of genes from large number of samples in a rapid and cost-effective way. PlexPress is starting business activities in Silicon Valley together with a local entrepreneur.
The method is based on patented TRAC technology, transcription analysis that
enables reliable and efficient analysis of a known set of genes from a large
number of samples. With the method it is easy to measure the expression of
tens of genes without the use of PCR, RNA extraction or radioactive tracers.
Excellent reproducibility, cost-efficiency and ease of use are other major
benefits of the TRAC method. TRAC compliments traditional so called
genome-wide analyses where the expression state of a large number of genes are
analysed from a single sample. After genes of interest are found from the
genome-wide approach, TRAC can then be used to understand how gene expression
changes as a function of disease state, time, or a change in the local
cellular environment.
There is a growing demand for
high-throughput gene expression analyses in pharmaceutical, diagnostics and
chemical industries to better understand gene expression behavior. “The global
market for gene expression analyses is around 1 billion euro and the market is
growing on 10-20 % yearly rate according to estimates. Lately the need for
focused analysis methods, which TRAC represents, has been increasing. The most
lucrative market is in the United States and we are now actively establishing
our business in Silicon Valley” explains Juhani Lahdenperä, the CEO of
PlexPress Oy.
PlexPress is accessing the U.S. market with the
help of INBAC, International Business Acceleration Center. Through its
Entrepreneur-in-Residence program INBAC facilitates the access of foreign
companies to the US market. Robert E. Dunkle, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence
for PlexPress, is finalizing the business plan and obtaining venture capital
for PlexPress. “TRAC addresses the next wave of genome analysis required to
help understand gene function. The number of applications in this space is
growing dramatically” comments Robert E Dunkle.