Asuragen Heritage
Asuragen Services utilizes world-leading RNA expertise to provide the best
data quality and fastest possible turn-around time
to the biopharmaceutical and research communities. We offer a range of services
for isolation, quantification, and data analysis of RNA to provide the highest quality
and most reproducible data attainable. Based on our experience, we can assist in
selection of the methods most appropriate to the client’s needs. Asuragen is a fully
licensed service provider for platforms and technologies from Affymetrix®,
Agilent, Ambion®, Applied Biosystems, Illumina® and NuGEN®
and respects the intellectual property rights of others. Asuragen’s service capabilities
include processes and conditions under which laboratory activities may be planned,
performed, monitored, and reported to comply with relevant cGLP requirements of
21CFR Part 58.
Our staff has decades of cumulative array target preparation
experience and RNA isolation experience with a broad range of human samples. Our
bioinformatics group is equipped and experienced with current tools and “best practices”
experience for gene expression profiling, pathway analysis, and biomarker discovery
and validation. We are committed to providing our clients with superior service
in the areas summarized in the following list:
- Nucleic
Acid Isolations (RNA,DNA)
- Gene
Expression Analysis (mRNA Profiling)
- Affymetrix gene expression profiling as an authorized Affymetrix Service
Provider
- Illumina gene expression profiling as an authorized CSPro™ Service
Provider
- Illumina DASL® mRNA profiling for FFPE (fixed) tissues
- Applied Biosystems TaqMan mRNA Assays
-
MicroRNA (miRNA) Expression Analysis
- Agilent microRNA Arrays
- Applied Biosystems TaqMan microRNA assays
- Ambion/Affymetrix-based DiscovArray™ profiling service
- Data
Analysis/Bioinformatics
- Standardized raw data delivery and organization
- Routine statistical analysis of single-variable experiments (ANOVA
or t-test) with html-formatted data delivery for quick access to graphical and tabular
results
- Customized statistical analysis or machine learning as required by
the end-user
-
Pathway Analysis
Asuragen Services has master laboratory service agreements in place with many of
the world’s largest pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies. We serve a large and diverse customer base
and have been engaged on hundreds of discrete projects ranging in size from six
samples to many thousand. We have performed thousands of RNA isolations on over
100 unique human tissues, processed thousands of Affymetrix arrays, and have corporate
experience in the performance and the technical foundation of the MessageAmp®
RNA amplification kit for the Affymetrix system. While we are no longer part of
Ambion, “The RNA Company®”, we work on the same campus and avail ourselves
of their expertise as needed. We also enjoy strong working relationships with all
our platform providers to ensure optimum system performance at all times and fast
troubleshooting when required. Asuragen’s Biologics Research group consists of former
Ambion R&D scientists with years of experience developing, testing, and utilizing
a variety of RNA isolation, amplification, and labeling technologies. In summary,
we are an industry leader in RNA-related services and offer the most in-depth knowledge
of and experience in service offerings including nucleic acid isolation, mRNA gene
expression profiling, miRNA profiling, pathway analysis, and bioinformatics.
A Brief history of Asuragen
Ambion’s CEO/CSO, Matt Winkler, Ph.D. founded Asuragen, in March of 2006 as a privately held,
Delaware corporation. The Company is a spin-off from the highly successful research product
company Ambion, Inc. (also founded by Dr. Winkler), which was sold to Applied Biosystems
(now Life Technologies) in March 2006 for $273 million. Asuragen consists of Ambion’s Diagnostics
and Services divisions, and a newly formed Biologics Research group assembled to transform cutting
edge research into clinical products. Ambion boasted a history of successful, profitable growth
since its founding in 1989, with annual average revenue growth of nearly 30%. Asuragen’s management
team includes former Ambion managers who are committed to the same responsible corporate governance
as practiced at Ambion.