February 2014—EKF Molecular Diagnostics launched four PointMan DNA enrichment kits for the research-use-only market, with planned diagnostic registration in Europe in 2014. As a real-time PCR technology, PointMan provides reliable and extremely sensitive detection of cancer mutations by amplifying the target sequence of interest in a background of wild-type genes. Using this technology, the enrichment kits are an ideal research tool for understanding biomarker and drug response.
The DNA enrichment kits include the PointMan KRAS codons 12/13/61 (the addition of codon 61 may confirm broader genetic variation within the KRAS gene); PointMan EGFR (the newly extended kit includes the addition of the sensitizing mutations in exons 19 and 21, which have proven utility for EGFR targeted therapies in non-small-cell lung cancer); PointMan NRAS (mutations in the NRAS gene are found in about 13 percent to 25 percent of all malignant melanomas, occurring frequently in codons 12, 13, and 61); and PointMan JAK2 (mutations in the JAK2 gene have been implicated in polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and myelofibrosis, as well as other myeloproliferative disorders).
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