The patent (WO/2008/143367) issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization covers a novel method for ApoE haplotyping using multiplex PCR. Seegene's proprietary Dual Priming Oligonucleotide (DPO) technology is being applied to haplotyping - the investigation of the genetic background and phenotype structures of complex diseases.
According to Dr Jong-Yoon Chun, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Seegene, "This novel approach to haplotyping using the Seegene multiplex platform allows biomedical researchers to cross a barrier that to this point has frustrated many - the exploration of observed patterns of genetic sequences that help us understand how the diverse traits reveal themselves as true risks for individuals."
Dr. Chun noted that haplotyping with Seegene's unique DPO technology puts in place a sound foundation for solid scientific advances providing a capability to meet pent-up demand for large-scale genetic studies involving thousands of samples. Seegene's DPO technology applied to haplotyping is robust yet easy to perform providing reliable results with fast turn-around time at a reasonable cost.
Haplotyping emerged as one of the most important fields in the post genomic era due to its potential for identifying the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of an individual and quantifying individual susceptibility to targeted traits such as drug responsiveness or diseases while showing stronger correlations than with other genotyping techniques.
Researchers have experimented with a number of advanced methods to determine haplotypes of genes, such as polymerase chain reaction-fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), allele specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probe, single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), primer extension, oligonucleotide ligation assay (OLA), heteroduplex analysis, and using the multiplex amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS).
These methods to determine haplotypes of genes have proved to be too costly and too complicated for practical research applications, as well as impossible to facilitate high-throughput testing. By contrast, the novel haplotyping process developed by Seegene applies the unique primer design technology of its proprietary DPO platform to the multiplex PCR technique widely used in molecular genetic analysis. The method allows the genotyping of six different combinations of Apolipoprotein allele types known to be associated with the risk of developing diseases in a single multiplex PCR.
Seegene's DPO technology can be broadly applied to most any genetic test. In addition to DPO's application to ApoE haplotyping, DPO has successfully been applied to various SNPs and somatic single nucleotide mutations detection, including simultaneous two SNP sites genotyping of MTHFR gene for hyperhomocysteimemia, BRAF gene for thyroid cancer, CYP2C19 for drug metabolism, Lamivudine resistant HBV, and JAK2/FLT3 for leukemia. Currently, Seegene is actively seeking targets to apply DPO technology for the performance of detailed genetic analysis.