WASHINGTON, DC – Today at the Society of Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C., GE Healthcare launched Ad-A-Gene Vectors, a large range of ready-to-use, validated adenoviral vector gene delivery reagents. The reagents expand the possibilities for lead compound profiling, drug target validation and basic research by enabling the rapid development of transient cell signaling assays. The system can greatly aid secondary screening and early-stage drug discovery by allowing researchers to study cell signaling effectively in a wide variety of cell types including those that are physiologically relevant to disease states.

Traditionally, researchers have produced such tools themselves, requiring significant time and expertise in molecular biology. The Ad-A-Gene Vectors eliminate the need for such expertise and save time by providing ready-to-use reagents for simple and efficient delivery of signaling pathway sensors into mammalian cells via viral transduction. Researchers simply add the Ad-A-Gene Vector to the cell culture and within 24 hours, cells will be expressing the transgene ready for assay development. Moreover, the system reduces error and provides reproducible results because each Ad-A-Gene Vector batch is functionally validated and tested.

“As researchers work more and more with relevant cell types, the Ad-A-Gene Vectors meet a growing need for tools that provide an integrated and holistic view of systems biology. Researchers now have a convenient way of studying fundamental disease pathways within cells. The system has possible applications in developing drug therapies as well as basic biological research. In developing this product, we tried to make it simple to use and compatible with a broad range of cell types,” said John Burczak, vice president of product development for Discovery Systems at GE Healthcare.

Ad-A-Gene Vectors can be used with a wide range of both primary and transformed cell types, so researchers can get informative data from cells that matter. The vectors also allow interrogation of multiple pathways within a cell. This is particularly useful in drug target validation because it allows researchers to see how the drug can subvert various pathways.

Each replication-defective recombinant adenoviral preparation contains the gene encoding a protein target fused to either EGFP (emerald FP) or a gene encoding a response element controlling the expression of the reporter gene, NTR (nitroreductase).

In developing the Ad-A-Gene Vectors, GE Healthcare licensed technology from Dr. Frank Graham, professor of pathology and molecular medicine at McMaster University, one of the world’s most accomplished researchers in the field of molecular virology, particularly in adenovirus biology.

“We are happy to see our work on adenoviruses and gene transfer facilitating the development of an array of highly efficient vectors for gene delivery. I am confident that this technology will provide researchers with very powerful research tools for efficient DNA transfer and high-level gene expression in cultured mammalian cells. Among the many advantages of adenoviral vectors, the Ad-A-Gene Vector DNA does not integrate into the host cell genome, therefore, the expression and functional activity of the sensor is not affected by an integration event,” said Graham.

GE Healthcare is currently offering eight Ad-A-Gene Vectors, and expects to have 50 commercially available by the end of this year.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that are shaping a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare’s expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring and life support systems, disease research, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping physicians detect disease earlier and tailor personalized treatments for their patients. GE Healthcare offers a broad range of products and services that are improving productivity in healthcare and enhancing patient care by enabling healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and other conditions.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $15 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 43,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.