Avesthagen in joint research with Sequenom

Avestha Gengraine Technologies Private Limited (Avesthagen) has bagged a contract to study genetic material provided by Sequenom Inc, a US-based biotech firm, that could help find ways to diagnose and monitor diseases like diabetes and cancer, a company release said.

Avesthagen, a Bangalore-based start up, has bought a sophisticated computer and relevant software from the US-based firm to study patterns of DNA in people's genetic make up. The firm will try to determine the probability that the presence of a specific pattern, called genetic marker, represents the presence of a disease.

Avesthagen will use the US-based company's proprietary genetic markers associated with diabetes, breast and lung cancers to study Indian patient samples.

The results of the collaboration could provide further validation of Sequenom's genetic markers and improve the understanding of the role of these genetic markers in disease onset, progression and therapeutic response, the release said.

Sequenom's proprietary genetic markers were discovered through a series of studies and subsequently replicated in multiple independent clinical collections.

The collaboration will capitalise on Sequenom's state-of-the art genetic analysis technologies and Avesthagen's knowledge of pharmacogenomics and functional genomics, the release said.