Hitachi Chemical develops novel mRNA quantitative assay

System targets personalized medicine for biomarker discovery and predicting drug efficacy.

Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd (Tokyo, Japan) have developed a novel molecular testing system, an mRNA assay named the “Hem(A)+ System”. Hitachi Chemical developed the system to target the field of personalized medicine by addressing the need for improved medical treatments, and plan to employ its use by conducting contract test services for pharmaceutical companies to find novel biomarkers and select subjects for clinical trials by predicting drug efficacy.

Employing a simple blood filtration method, the system is able to capture leukocyte before extraction and quantification of leukocyte-derived mRNA, from only 0.05 ml of whole blood. Moreover, with a 96-well microplate format, the system is suitable for simultaneous processing of multiple samples whilst also stimulating the drug response of an individual in a test tube by using whole blood samples stimulated with the drug.

Eventually, Hitachi Chemical aims to have the Hem(A)+ System as a companion diagnostic in order to assess patients that will likely benefit from certain medication through efficacy and adverse reaction predictions.

Source: Novel molecular testing system for personalized medicine.