BD and Seegene to develop multiplex molecular diagnostic assays

BD and Seegene have announced a new worldwide collaboration agreement to co-develop multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents for the BD MAX System.

Under the terms of the agreement, Seegene will develop and manufacture multiplex tests based on novel DPO, TOCE and MuDT technologies designed exclusively for BD's molecular diagnostics platform.

BD will gain worldwide commercialisation rights to these tests, further expanding the range of available testing technologies for the BD MAX system.

By combining and automating real-time PCR extraction, amplification and detection into a single platform capable of running a wide range of assays, BD MAX enables physicians to address a wide breadth of testing needs.

Doug White, vice-president and general manager for molecular diagnostics and women's health at BD Life Sciences, said: "With Seegene's multiplex reagents that simultaneously detect and identify various types of pathogens in a single test, we will continue to expand the BD MAX assay portfolio."

This comes after the firm strengthened its position in the field of genomics analysis with the acquisition of Cellular Research last month.