Affymetrix Technology to Be Used in Groundbreaking Studies of Neurological Disease

GeneChip(R) Microarray Technology Enabling Perlegen Sciences to Study Alzheimer's Disease, Autism and Parkinson's Disease

22-Sep-2004

Affymetrix GeneChip technology is now enabling three unprecedented studies of complex brain disease. Perlegen Sciences recently announced that they are using high density Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays for landmark studies of the genetic causes of Alzheimer's disease, autism, and Parkinson's disease.

Understanding the genetics of complex disease requires huge amounts of information. Neurological diseases can be particularly challenging due to the difficulty in classifying phenotypes. Affymetrix photolithographic microarray technology provides the most genetic information, enabling scientists for the first time to cost-effectively analyze whole genomes with sufficient resolution to identify the genetic variations that could play a role in these diseases.

Perlegen, which was formed in late 2000 as a spin-off from Affymetrix, is using Affymetrix microarrays to produce up to 20 million genotypes per day. Perlegen has developed the world's leading infrastructure for high throughput genotyping by combining this technology with its proprietary genetics, systems, and informatics expertise. Using Affymetrix technology, Perlegen routinely analyzes over 200,000 SNPs in individual samples and up to 1.5 million SNPs in pooled samples.

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Combining this high throughput platform with well-characterized DNA samples and scientific expertise from leading research institutions, such as the Mayo Clinic, offers a huge opportunity for progress in these significant human diseases. Funding for these important projects is provided by diverse public and private groups such as NIMH, NIA, Michael J. Fox Foundation, and AGRE.

"We congratulate Perlegen on these studies," said Greg Yap, Affymetrix' Vice President, DNA Products. "We are enthusiastic that they continue to pioneer the advanced use of GeneChip microarray technology for high resolution whole genome SNP scans and genome-wide association studies. Perlegen is blazing a trail for others to build upon. Affymetrix' goal is to make whole genome analysis accessible to everyone."

Perlegen Genotyping Services Available Through Affymetrix

Access to Perlegen's high-throughput genotyping facility is now available through Affymetrix on a simple, fee-for-service basis. These services -- covering projects ranging from a few thousand to 50,000 SNPs, and up to thousands of samples -- are designed to conveniently meet the needs of researchers eager to identify genetic loci associated with inherited diseases. SNPs to be genotyped can be selected by customers from Perlegen's portfolio of over 1.5 million previously validated SNP assays, as well as from public sources. Affymetrix' global sales infrastructure provides before and after-sales support.

Broad Portfolio of Affymetrix Genotyping Products

Affymetrix is also translating its ongoing innovations in GeneChip technology into market-leading products for DNA analysis that can be used by scientists in their own labs. The GeneChip Mapping 100K Array Set is the first product for genotyping over 100,000 SNPs, enabling researchers for the first time to study the genes associated with complex disease and drug response in their own labs. The 100K is first in a family of products for genome-wide association studies and is being used by more than 30 customers today. Affymetrix' 10K and 100K SNP products feature a proven assay that has been used in more than 20 peer-reviewed publications to date. Affymetrix has also recently launched products for genotyping customer-selected SNP panels. MegAllele genotyping reagents, developed by ParAllele, are available through Affymetrix and offer a cost-effective solution for customers to genotype selected SNPs.

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