ArcherDX,
Inc., the NGS applications company, today announced the formation of
a new, independent company, which is focused on the development of the
Archer™ line of next-generation sequencing (NGS) products. ArcherDX is
the result of a business unit reorganization, announced yesterday, in
which QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN, Frankfurt Prime Standard QIA) acquired
the Enzyme Solutions Unit of Enzymatics, based in Beverly, Mass.
ArcherDX integrates Enzymatics’ former Archer NGS and Supply Chain
Solutions units.
As part of the transaction, ArcherDX entered into a strategic
partnership with QIAGEN to distribute the company’s products. Financial
terms of the transactions are undisclosed.
“This is more than just an exciting time for ArcherDX; it is also a win
for our customers and the clinical research community. Additional
resources and enhanced focus will accelerate our development of
best-in-class NGS applications,” said Jason Myers, Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer of ArcherDX. “ArcherDX has retained all the
capabilities required to deliver the best target enrichment solutions
for fusion transcript, single nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide
variant, and copy number variation detection. Additionally, our
strategic alliance with QIAGEN enables us to deliver world-class target
enrichment solutions globally.”
ArcherDX, which employs 87, is headquartered in Boulder, Colo., and
maintains manufacturing operations in Beverly, Mass. The company’s chief
executive, Dr. Myers, was the Chief Executive Officer of ArcherDX prior
to its September 2013 acquisition by Enzymatics. Under Enzymatics, the
ArcherDX team commercialized AMP™ technology, which addresses the
bottlenecks associated with using next-generation sequencing in
translational research.
ArcherDX offers a best-in-class Archer
FusionPlex™ product line of gene fusion assays, which utilize
targeted enrichment chemistry and automated bioinformatic analysis to
detect both known and novel fusions from RNA. The FusionPlex line of
gene fusion assays include ALK, RET, ROS1; FGFR; NTRK; Heme; and Sarcoma
panels, as well as a custom
assay designer.
“In the coming months, we look forward to launching a series of
AMP™-based Universal DNA enrichment panels to complement our growing
line of RNA panels,” added Dr. Myers.
The Archer™ NGS Solution
Archer™ NGS utilizes best-in-class fusion detection technology with a
lyophilized workflow and an advanced analysis pipeline to
comprehensively detect fusions and mutations from as little as 10ng of
nucleic acid. Using ArcherDX’s proprietary Anchored Multiplex PCR (AMP™)
technology, researchers can detect and identify fusions without prior
knowledge of fusion partners or breakpoints.
Archer™ FusionPlex™ assays have been optimized for fusion and mutation
detection and characterization, are FFPE compatible, and can run on both
Illumina® and Ion Torrent™ next-generation sequencing platforms. Once
sequenced, Archer FusionPlex libraries can be analyzed via the Archer
Analysis Pipeline, a proprietary informatics analysis package that
quickly detects and identifies fusion partners of assay genes as well as
selected indels and point mutations.
Note: Archer™ kits and analysis software are for research use only and
not for use in diagnostic procedures.
About ArcherDX, Inc.
ArcherDX, the NGS applications company, is developing and
commercializing a novel approach to target enrichment chemistry.
Next-generation sequencing technology based on Anchored Multiplexed PCR
(AMP™) generates a highly enriched library of gene targets of interest
for downstream genomic sequencing. Complemented by proprietary software
and readily accessible reports, our technology enables dramatic
enhancement in mutation detection speed as well as complex mutation
identification and discovery. www.ArcherDX.com
Copyright Business Wire 2015