Thermo Fisher Scientific launches digital PCR application for phenotyping

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced the launch of a new digital polymerase chain reaction application for the QuantStudio 3D Digital PCR System, making it easier for researchers to accurately phenotype the CYP2D6 gene.

Enhancing the company's extensive offering in the pharmacogenomics field, the application enables researchers to perform allele-specific copy number analysis, facilitating the reliable characterisation of drug metabolism enzymes such as CYP2D6.

This highly polymorphic gene's expression is implicated in metabolising roughly 85 percent of medications through the Cytochrome P450 pathway and is therefore an important research target.

With this new technology, users will be able to determine specific allele composition of samples with duplications in the CYP2D6 gene in less than a day.

Chris Linthwaite, head of genetic sciences research for Thermo Fisher Scientific, said: "Determining the specific alleles that are duplicated in samples characterised for pharmacogenomics applications have proven to be a blind spot for the industry, creating a barrier that's kept clinical researchers from accurately identifying the most effective drug dosages."

This comes after the firm announced the launch of Lipofectamine MessengerMAX, a new transfection reagent targeting neurons and primary cells, earlier this month.