Luminex Announces Collaboration With University Of Sao Paulo To Validate Zika Virus Detection Panel

by Jayson Derrick

February 26, 2016 10:19 AM | 1 min read | Make a Comment

Luminex CorporationLMNX

, a manufacturer of biological testing technologies,

announced after Thursday's market close that it has established a new collaboration with the University of Sao Paulo. As part of the new collaboration, Luminex will validate a multi-analyte Zika virus assay developed by its partner, GenArraytion. The testing device, called MultiFlex, can detect multiple disease agents, including the Zika virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3 to 4 million people across the Americas will be infected with the virus in the next year. "As a leader in multiplex assays for infectious diseases, we are pleased to collaborate with the distinguished Biomedical Sciences Institute at the University of São Paulo. We believe this collaboration will help ensure our innovative multi-target mosquito-borne panel is ready to aid researchers in rapidly identifying clinical samples from people who may be infected with the Zika virus, or other mosquito-borne diseases," said Nachum "Homi" Shamir, president and CEO of Luminex Corporation. "All of my Luminex colleagues across the globe share a concern for those affected by the rise in mosquito-borne disease. In addition, we will begin shipping this unique, first-to-market MultiFLEX Mosquito-borne Panel to health care researchers in areas of greatest immediate need in South America, Central America and the Caribbean." "The multiplex molecular panel will greatly aid our survey efforts to identify not only Zika virus but also concurrent epidemics we are now experiencing in Brazil such as Chikingunya. The MAGPIX platform also has the flexibility to develop and perform Zika-specific serological assays to survey exposed population and establish case-controlled cohorts of pregnant women," said Paolo Zanotto, Professor, Department of Microbiology, Laboratory of Molecular Evolution & Bioinformatics, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo. Shares of Luminex were trading higher by 0.35 percent Friday morning.

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Posted In: News Biological Testing Technologies GenArraytion Health Care Life Sciences Tools & Services luminex University Of Sao Paulo Zika Virus Detection

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