Latest News

  • Novel NGS-Based Assay Has Seemingly Limitless Virus Detection Potential

    Diagnostics World | Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have created a next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology that employs oligonucleotides (oligos)—short single strands of synthetic DNA—as bait for relevant targets of detection.

    Feb 7, 2024
  • Protein Signatures Of Organ Aging Could Aid Disease Prevention Efforts

    Diagnostics World | Stanford Medicine investigators are leading the development of a test measuring organ-specific proteins in the blood as a simple and sensible way to estimate biological age. Among the potential applications are screening people for conditions such as heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease, personalizing the intervention they’re prescribed, and signaling sooner the efficacy of investigational drugs based on how well they rejuvenate certain organs.

    Feb 6, 2024
  • Oxford Nanopore Expands Respiratory Pilot Program, Imagine Pharma Launches Foundation, Collaborations for Rare Diseases, More

    Diagnostics World | Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust have collaborated and successfully completed a pilot program meant to deliver a respiratory metagenomics service with an integrated respiratory infection and biosecurity application; Imagine Pharma announced the formation of The Imagine Pharma Foundation, a private, not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to advancing metabolic research to significantly impact the lives of those affected by diabetes, with a particular emphasis on serving veterans; DNAnexus and TMA Precision Health announced a collaboration to advance basic and translational research for patients who have a rare disease; more.

    Jan 31, 2024
  • Follow the Money: Cleveland Diagnostics Expands Development, Depression Treatment Implant Device, Major Liver Cirrhosis Study, More

    Diagnostics World | Cleveland Diagnostics intends to accelerate the company’s commercial and corporate development goals; Motif Neurotech has secured funding for the development of lead product, DOT microstimulator, to treat depression; Newcastle University, University of Edinburgh, and Boehringer Ingelheim will begin the most extensive clinical study into liver cirrhosis ever to better understand NASH cirrhosis and identifying translational biomarkers; more.

    Jan 30, 2024
  • New Patient Scoring Method To Enable Precision Medicine For Chronic Diseases

    Diagnostics World | In a big advance for precision medicine, researchers in Australia have developed a genetic biomarker of people’s response to sodium reduction. It is often but not always the case that modifying sodium levels lowers blood pressure by reducing the fluid volume of blood in the cardiovascular system, and knowing in advance how patients will respond could help eliminate the “treatment odyssey” that many of them are experiencing.

    Jan 25, 2024
  • Smartwatch Could Reduce Fallout From False-Positive AFib Readouts

    Diagnostics World | A clinical-grade smartwatch does a good job of detecting possible atrial fibrillation (AFib), which could fill the need for a noninvasive option for monitoring patients for more than 30 days. Current available electrocardiography (ECG) technologies, such as Holter monitors and wearable event recorders, are both more time-limited and resource-intensive.

    Jan 24, 2024
  • Digital Endpoints: Trends and Opportunities in Drug Development and Beyond

    Diagnostics World | When the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) launched its Library of Digital Endpoints, a listing of industry-sponsored studies of new medical products or applications that use sensor-derived endpoints, there were a total of 35. Four years later, that same library now includes over 400 unique digital endpoints collected by over 60 sponsors to answer questions about the efficacy of new medical products.

    Jan 23, 2024
  • JP Morgan Healthcare on Acquisitions, AI Advancements, More

    Diagnostics World | At this year’s JP Morgan Healthcare conference, biotech and diagnostic companies and experts provided overviews of 2023 accomplishments and their goals for 2024. We’ve covered presentations by NVIDIA, Regeneron, Illumina, Pacific Biosciences, and Oxford Nanopore in depth. Here we list highlights from Pfizer, Moderna, Eli Lilly, Thermo Fisher, and more.

    Jan 17, 2024
  • Oxford Nanopore at JP Morgan: Native DNA Advantage

    Diagnostics World | CEO Gordan Sanghera gave Oxford Nanopore’s first live presentation at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference last week. He highlighted his platforms accuracy and the company’s consumable growth.

    Jan 16, 2024
  • PacBio at JP Morgan: Revio, Onso, Three Sequencing Platforms in Development

    Diagnostics World | Christian Henry, President and CEO of Pacific Biosciences, was unabashedly cheerful at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday afternoon when he gave the updates for PacBio. “2023 absolutely exceeded our expectations,” he said, basking in two platform launches, strong consumable growth, and three new platforms in development.

    Jan 12, 2024
  • Illumina at JP Morgan: Tighter Focus, Consumable Growth, Short Read Market

    Diagnostics World | CEO Jacob Thaysen presented Illumina’s updates yesterday at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. 2023 has been an eventful year for the sequencing pioneer with December’s announcement that Illumina would divest GRAIL; Francis deSouza, Illumina’s former CEO, stepping down in June; and $175M in cost cuts over the course of 2023 which included headcount reductions and major real estate changes. Thaysen presented Illumina at a turning point.

    Jan 9, 2024
  • ‘Reverse Metabolomics’ Enables Biological Discoveries From Repository Data

    Diagnostics World | In a turnaround of the usual metabolomics study approach, University of California San Diego scientists are homing in on the microbial-produced molecules that interact with cells and affect human health. A couple million such molecules are likely awaiting discovery in this fashion.

    Jan 9, 2024
  • Top Stories from 2023: AI Prognostics, Illumina, CF Screening, exRNA Biology, More

    Diagnostics World | AI took center stage in diagnostics stories in 2023, assessing breast cancer prognoses and helping identify biomarkers. But it’s also under the microscope as researchers seek to validate “black box” AI findings. Plus: news from Illumina and a call for more diverse cystic fibrosis screening. Here’s a look at the top stories from Diagnostics World as well as thought leaders in the industry.

    Jan 4, 2024
  • Trendspotting: What’s Coming for Diagnostics in 2024

    Diagnostics World | To kick off the New Year, we spoke with leaders and experts in the Diagnostic World community about their insights and predictions for 2024.

    Jan 3, 2024
  • PerkinElmer Acquires Covaris, Revvity Launches New Platform, New Diagnostic Devices, Studies, More

    Diagnostics World | PerkinElmer has acquired Covaris; Revvity has launched its EONIS Q system, which can help test for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in newborns; Edinburgh Innovations has announced a novel 3D printed device that could replace the need for drug and chemical safety testing on animals; and more.

    Dec 28, 2023
  • Follow the Money: PCORI Approves Awards For Multiple CER Studies, Small Molecule Therapies, “Google Maps” for Drug Discovery, More

    Diagnostics World | PCORI approves funding awards meant to fill evidence gaps related to multiple different illnesses; Apple Tree Partners will expand its portfolio company Deep Apple Therapeutics to rapidly discover novel small molecule therapeutics for high-value targets through virtual screening of AI-generated virtual libraries; Pepper Bio, the “Google Maps for drug discovery,” plans to accelerate its transomics platform capabilities, fueling the pipeline for more accurate and accessible drug discovery; and more.

    Dec 27, 2023
  • Epigenetic Biomarkers Needed For Shift From Treatment To Prevention

    Diagnostics World | There is mounting evidence that epigenetics—the molecular processes that influence how genes are expressed—is an equally if not more important driver of disease conditions and phenotypic differences than genetics. That means that accelerating the shift from reactionary medicine to preventive care is going to require biomarkers of these heritable and reversible changes.

    Dec 21, 2023
  • NIH Program Tackles Bottlenecks In ‘Wild West’ Field Of exRNA Biology

    Diagnostics World | A decade ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a program designed to answer fundamental questions about extracellular RNA (exRNA), such as how it is used by cells and distant organs and if diseased and healthy cells produce different varieties of it. The program concludes at the end of this year but leaves science with technologies to address some of the biggest bottlenecks encountered by researchers in the niche field of study

    Dec 19, 2023
  • Illumina to Divest GRAIL Business by Q2 2024

    Diagnostics World | On Sunday, Illumina announced that the company will divest GRAIL.

    Dec 17, 2023
  • Novel DNA Methylation Markers, Biosensor Aim for Early Detection of Cervical Cancer

    Diagnostics World |An international research consortium led by scientists from LMU University Hospital Munich has tested a new simple, rapid tuberculosis test that uses a blood sample from the fingertip. The candidate test, called the Cepheid Mycobacterium tuberculosis Host Response prototype cartridge (MTB-HR), works by measuring a three-gene transcriptomic signature.

    Dec 14, 2023