MilliporeSigma announces launch of new protein detecting platform

Earlier this month, MilliporeSigma (Billerica, MA, USA) announced the launch of their new Single Molecule Counting Platform, termed SMCxPROTM, during the American Association for Cancer Research annual meet (Washington, D.C., USA). The SMCxPRO platform allows for a highly precise and sensitive method to detect and quantify proteins that traditional methods cannot measure. This novel technology could enable researchers to detect or monitor changes in biomarkers at extremely low concentrations, down to a femtogram level, with scope to increase the limit of detection with further fine tuning down the line.

In reference to the benefit of the SMCxPRO platform, Jason Apter, Head of Research Solutions Strategic Marketing & Innovation at MilliporeSigma commented that “there’s an addressable market that actually needs to look for low-abundance biomarkers.” He elaborated that the detection of such biomarkers would allow for “quantitation of a new class of novel targets” that could empower researchers by “providing the technologies needed to accelerate advancements in healthcare.”

The SMCxPRO platform, which was originally developed by Singulex Inc., utilizes the combination of single molecule counting technology with a traditional immunoassay workflow in order to detect proteins at low concentrations.

Currently, the SMCxPro is not yet a fully automated system and the first generation platform will not be capable of carrying out multiple analytes at once, which will most likely be the seen in next generations of the SMCxPro.

The platform will be commercially available in the third quarter of this year with a predicted price tag of $80,000–$100,000, undercutting its closest competitor – the SimoaTM – developed by Quanterix corporation (Lexington, MA, USA), that is currently on the market at $150 000. An advantage the Simoa currently has over the SMCxPro is that it can be utilized in in vitro diagnostics, however, MilliporeSigma hopes that the SMCxPro can secure its place within the market.

Sources: news.emdgroup.com/N/0/EADC05CD483EC20DC12580F6004F6A8E/$File/MilliporeSigmaIntroducesProteinDetection040317.pdf;
www.genomeweb.com/proteomics-protein-research/milliporesigma-developing-new-instrument-single-molecule-biomarker