Hercules, CA, Aug. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eureka Genomics, a leader in Next Generation Genotyping (NGG), announced that it has been awarded a $450,000 grant from The National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The Institute is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Eureka Genomics was awarded this grant to commercialize a second generation NGG assay focused on bovine genotyping known as the Sparse Genome Scan (SGS).
Eureka Genomics' SGS is a technology platform that produces commercially relevant data, currently generated from micro arrays, at less than half the cost.
This most recent USDA grant awarded to Eureka Genomics follows an ongoing cooperative research and development agreement with the USDA's Meat Animal Research Center.
"The USDA's financial and research support is part of Eureka Genomics' strategy to accelerate the development of our novel NGG assays for animal health. We are looking at providing a low-cost, NGG alternative platform for the AgBio, clinical and research markets in the very near term," said Didier Perez, COO of Eureka Genomics.
More broadly, management also announced that it will be raising additional capital from investors to fund and bring to market new targeted assays for clinical, animal health and crops markets. The Company continues to seek additional commercial partnerships for its clinical and agricultural products.
Genetic testing options for animal health and livestock management are typically limited in scope and prohibitively expensive, compromising the ability for routine or en mass genotyping of animals. Eureka Genomics' existing NGG technology offers a low-cost solution for genetic testing of production and research animals. The technology can be used for determining parentage, genetic defects, quantitative traits and marker-assisted management of feedlots. Eureka Genomics envisions a number of additional applications of its low-density and medium-density assays in the $1 billon global, animal health market focused on genetics traits and early detection of infections.
The market for Eureka Genomics' technology is not limited to animal health. The company has gained a foothold in the commercial crop market by offering low-cost, high-value testing of barley for such traits as yield, environmental resilience and nutritional value, and is working on multiple pilot projects for other crops.
Eureka Genomics is also leveraging its core expertise in bioinformatics analysis to develop NGS-based molecular diagnostics in response to the shift toward personalized medicine and the increased demand for tools that enable identification and treatment of diseases. Using the same NGG technology, the company is currently developing molecular diagnostics for the identification of hereditary colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and the detection of infections.
About Eureka Genomics: Eureka Genomics is a privately held company offering Next Generation Genotyping (NGG) and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) -- based assays and diagnostics. Eureka Genomics designs novel genotyping assays for animal health, as well as clinical and crop applications using focused NGS. In addition, Eureka Genomics provides advanced NGS bioinformatics consulting services and genetic testing services using its proprietary diagnostics. Eureka Genomics aims to address research needs in animal health, plant science and other AgBio segments, as well as in therapeutic and clinical testing markets as both a service provider and research partner. Eureka Genomics has been providing NGS and bioinformatics services to a number of governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Eureka Genomics' current academic research partners include Baylor Research Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and New York University. Eureka Genomics was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Hercules, CA. For more information, please visit www.eurekagenomics.com.
About the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Scientists at the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) are developing scientific information and new technology to solve high priority problems for the U.S. beef, sheep, and swine industries. Objectives are to increase efficiency of production while maintaining a lean, high-quality, safe product; therefore, the research ultimately benefits the consumer as well as the production and agribusiness sectors of animal agriculture. The research is directed toward problems of national concern and to meeting USDA's Action Agencies' research needs. Research approaches involve multidisciplinary teams with emphasis on both short-term and long-term solutions to improving animal production and product quality. About 50 percent of the effort is with beef cattle, 30 percent with swine, and 20 percent with sheep. The program is cooperative with the University of Nebraska and land-grant universities in the United States.