NEWS
Seegene and Springer Nature launch PCR project
Seegene and Springer Nature have joined forces to launch ‘Nature Awards MDx Impact Grants in partnership with Seegene’, a new project for the development of diagnostic assays. The program empowers researchers worldwide to develop innovative diagnostic assays using Seegene’s advanced multiplex PCR technology.
It marks an extension of the strategic partnership between Seegene, a South Korean PCR molecular diagnostics company, and Springer Nature, a trusted provider to the global scientific community and the publisher of the prestigious scientific journal, Nature. The global call for proposals builds on the success of the 2023 Open Innovation Program, which attracted 281 applications from 47 countries, with 26 submissions selected. With the launch of the second phase, Seegene and Springer Nature are setting the stage for even broader participation and innovation, furthering their commitment to democratising molecular diagnostics. This year’s call invites scientists across the globe to directly propose product development ideas. Researchers are required to submit proposals featuring qualitative PCR-based analysis targeting human infectious diseases. Selected final awardees will receive significant support, including research funding of up to US $600,000 per project, as well as Seegene’s provision of syndromic PCR assays, extraction assays, consumables, instruments, and relevant software necessary for their clinical research project.
The application deadline is 2 December 2024. The first evaluation will conclude in February 2025, followed by on-site evaluation and final deliberation. The final awardees will be announced in August 2025 with Nature Awards leading the submission and evaluation process. Seegene will manage overall program planning and onsite evaluations. The Nature Awards MDx Impact Grants in Partnership with Seegene aim to accelerate open innovation and advance the commercialisation of molecular diagnostics solutions for unmet clinical needs. Learn more at
https://www.nature.com/ immersive/mdximpactgrants/
index.html.
10
‘Lung on a chip’ a new tool to combat coronavirus
Researchers from the Quadram Institute working together with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have established a human ‘lung-on-chip’ model that recreates how SARS-CoV-2 infects lung cells, in a contained laboratory environment. The model adapts
current technology to allow cells that line the lungs in humans to be grown in a way that mimics physiological conditions. The cells are grown with one end based in a liquid, and the other is exposed to the air – and potentially the virus. The composition and flow of the liquid are controlled to reproduce that seen in the lung. The system also incorporates breathing-like stretching, ensuring different cells develop and interact as in the human lung.
In a study published in the journal Access Microbiology, the team showed how their system successfully mimics the way SARS-CoV-2 virus infects cells, triggering characteristic changes in the cells seen in human infections as well as recapitulating early immune response, and release of new
virus particles. Taken together, these
features mean this is a powerful new way for scientists to study how SARS-CoV-2 infects our lungs cells in the laboratory, to guide future clinical research and help fight back against COVID. Study authors Professor
Nathalie Juge and Dr Tanja Šuligoj from the Quadram Institute worked with Dr Simon Funnell and colleagues from UKHSA to assess the suitability of the system for the study of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Quadram Institute’s containment Level 3 (CL3) facility.
UKHSA is continuing to develop this model to characterise virus infections with Coronaviruses that cause more severe disease intending to develop a human- relevant platform to assess new drugs and treatments against coronavirus threats. n Šuligoj T, Coombes NS , Booth C et al. Modelling SARS-CoV-2 infection in a human alveolus microphysiological system. Access Microbiol. 2024 Sep 11;6(9): 1-8. doi:10.1099/acmi.0.000814.v3
Roche opens Pharma Research and Development Center in Basel
Roche has opened its new Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) Center at its global headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Equipped with cutting-edge technologies and housing around 1,000 state-of-the-art laboratory and office workplaces, the new centre brings together teams of scientists and researchers to accelerate scientific discoveries for patients. Severin Schwan, Chairman of the Roche
Group commented: “Roche has invested CHF1.2 billion (about £1.1bn) into the new pRED Center, underscoring our ongoing commitment to supporting Switzerland in remaining a leading innovative life sciences hub, the country where Roche was founded over 125 years ago.”
The new pRED Center consists of
two high-rise laboratory buildings, with cutting-edge technology and digital solutions, alongside an office building and a convention centre. In total, there are 33 combined laboratories and office floors with 150 laboratories and workplaces for around 1,800 researchers. The state-of-the-art buildings
have been deliberately designed to foster collaboration and an end-to-end mindset, aiming to deliver the most transformative medicines to patients faster.
Since 2009, Roche has invested CHF4.6 billion CHF into the Basel/Kaiseraugst site upgrade, of which the inauguration of the pRED Center marks the biggest single investment. In addition, the company is currently investing a further CHF1.2 billion across the Basel site.
OCTOBER 2024
WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM
Image by Tanja Suligoj and Catherine Booth, Quadram-Institute
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