New service to offer integrated genetic biomarker discovery, selection, validation and analysis
 
Plexpress Oy, the creator of the innovative TRAC platform for high-throughput gene expression analysis, and Phalanx Biotech Group, the original design manufacturer of the OneArray^® line of high-quality microarrays for gene expression and microRNA profiling, have established a strategic alliance to offer the OneTRAC^TM service. The new service package will allow researchers to not only discover and select genomic biomarkers, but also to fully validate and understand their function in a streamlined, integrated workflow. The OneTRAC^TM analysis service will be offered by Plexpress in Europe, and by Phalanx Biotech in the United States and Asia.

Announcing the launch of the OneTRAC^TM service at the 48^thEUROTOX Congress, Jari Rautio, Ph.D., CEO of Plexpress commented: "By combining the coverage breadth of OneArray® microarrays and the high-throughput, multiplex capabilities of TRAC, OneTRAC^TM offers researchers in industry and academia an integrated approach towards identifying, selecting and validating a robust set of gene expression signatures." Vivien Mak, Ph.D., Phalanx Biotech's President, further supported the significance of the OneTRAC^TM solution, "With continued interest among drug sponsors to supplement US regulatory submissions with toxicogenomic data, we believe the flexibility and scalability of OneTRAC^TMwill be well-received by customers investigating expression profiling at both the genome-wide and focused-gene levels. Whether it's ADME-tox biomarkers or drug-response gene sets for pre-clinical and clinical development, OneTRAC^TM is fully capable of addressing the diverse needs of genomic scientists."

In the OneTRAC^TM workflow, genome-wide expression patterns for mRNAs and microRNAs are profiled using Phalanx Biotech's OneArray® microarrays to determine genes of interest and infer gene expression relationships. Once biomarker signatures are identified, the target genes are validated and further investigated using Plexpress' FAST TRAC gene expression analysis platform. With the integrated OneTRAC^TM service, researchers can easily scale the number of profiled samples across multiple conditions and transition effectively from discovery research to understanding biological function. Besides its application in biomarker development, the OneTRAC^TM service is suitable across a range of drug development and life sciences applications, and in several other model systems, including rat and mouse species. 

For more information please visit the Plexpress website at www.plexpress.com.