Otsu/Shiga, Japan — Takara Bio Inc. has announced an agreement with Pathogenica Inc., based in Boston, to market and distribute the Pathogenica HAI (Hospital Acquired Infection) BioDetection Kit in Japan. The kit is currently being sold for research use and is the first DNA sequencing analysis product that enables identification of infectious diseases with sequence-specific resolution at a scale that makes hospital-wide screening practical.

Hospital acquired infections are a globally recognized health problem, and Pathogenica’s HAI BioDetection Kit enables health care providers to rapidly characterize, track, and deal with the causative agents, preserving the health of patients and helping hospitals reduce the cost of care.

Current methods for pathogen identification can take days to obtain results or are limited to a few organisms. The Pathogenica solution quickly identifies what species are present in a sample and also provides sequence data (including strain identity and resistance genes), which is critical information for understanding and containing or preventing outbreaks. The kit can detect 12 bacteria commonly associated with HAIs and 15 resistance gene families in a single assay and 12 samples can be processed per sequencing run. The kit offers an impressive “sample to result” turnaround of less than 12 hours and detects co-infections with a high degree of reliability.

In addition to selling kits, Takara Bio is offering sequencing services through its state-of-the art Dragon Genomics Center, enabling doctors and epidemiologists to send samples out to Takara, have them sequenced, and receive back the interpreted information on microbial characterization. The Pathogenica HAI solution combined with Takara Bio’s sequencing service allows healthcare and research facilities of all sizes to leverage sequencing technology for obtaining useful findings to track HAIs, control outbreaks, and improve quality of care.

All products referenced are for Research Use Only and not intended for diagnostic purposes.

About Takara Bio Inc.

Takara Bio Inc. is an innovative biotechnology company based in Shiga, Japan. As a world leader in biotechnology research and development, Takara Bio was the first company to market PCR technology in Japan and is also the developer of the RetroNectin® reagent, which is a world-standard in gene therapy protocols. In addition to providing research reagents and equipment to the life science research market, Takara Bio has active research and product development activities in the fields of gene and cell-based therapy, and agricultural biotechnology; and is committed preventing disease and improving the quality of life for all people through the use of biotechnology. Through strategic alliances with other industry leaders, the Company aims to extend its reach around the world. More information is available at https://www.takara-bio.com.

About Pathogenica, Inc.

Pathogenica combines the power of Cloud-based DNA sequencing analysis and next-generation DNA sequencing to revolutionize pathogen identification and enable real-time bio-surveillance. Its DxSeq™ platform offers new applications in health services through rapid multiplex identification of pathogens and drug resistance genes; providing personalized diagnosis for infectious diseases that allows for more effective diagnosis and treatment of patients. Pathogenica’s high throughput pathogen identification system performs rapid and highly sensitive identification of a wide variety of biomarkers using a common assay protocol.

For more information:Corporate Communications, Takara Bio Inc.

E-mail: bio-ir@takara-bio.co.jp