FREMONT, Calif., Dec. 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:WGBS) announced today that single-cell analysis results generated by BGI utilizing WaferGen’s ICELL8™ single-cell technology have been published in the November edition of GigaScience.
The article, entitled “Full-length single-cell RNA-seq applied to a viral human cancer: applications to HPV expression and splicing analysis in HeLa S3 cells”, demonstrates the ability to prepare full-length cDNA from more than 500 single cells per run utilizing WaferGen’s system, and reveals the heterogeneity of HPV virus-infected cervical cancer cell lines using whole transcriptome analysis. The system produced a high number of mapped reads and the number of genes detected was comparable to a microfluidic chip-based system. In addition, BGI used the platform to prepare single-cell RNA of biopsy material from a variety of samples, such as bladder cancer tissue, liver cancer tissues and B cells, with a resulting higher success rate compared with a tube-based approach.
“The 5,184 nanowell chip technology from WaferGen is ideal for high-throughput single-cell analysis. We have been able to produce high quality results, and the flexibility of the technology has allowed us to adopt the platform for our commercial research and service offerings,” said Yong Hou, Associate Director of BGI Research.
“Utilizing ICELL8 technology, BGI has introduced a number of innovative concepts by combining two critical steps in the nanowells to minimize the loss of very small amounts of DNA and using WaferGen’s SmartChip Real Time PCR cycler to select wells containing single-cells,” said Dr. Maithreyan Srinivasan, Chief Technology Officer of WaferGen Bio-systems.
WaferGen recently commercially launched the ICELL8™ System, a single-cell analysis platform that can isolate up to 1,800 single cells ranging from 5-100 µm without size pre-selection or filtering. The system is able to dispense up to 8 different cell types or 8 different experimental conditions on a single chip, thus enabling unbiased experiments and greater biological insight. The system also includes an imaging station and CellSelect™ software which automatically images each nanowell and selects viable single cells for downstream processing. The throughput and ability to choose specific cells enables a wide range of research applications, including stem cell, neuroscience, immunology, and cancer.
About WaferGen
WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. is a biotechnology company that offers innovative genomic technology solutions for single-cell analysis and clinical research. The ICELL8™ Single-Cell System can isolate thousands of single cells and processes specific cells for analysis, including Next Generation Sequencing. The system has demonstrated unbiased isolation of up to 1,800 single cells ranging from 5-100 µm in size on a single chip, including single cells from solid tumors, brain cells, pulmonary airway cells, and multiple cell lines. The SmartChip™ platform can be used for profiling and validating molecular biomarkers, and can perform massively-parallel single-plex PCR for one-step target enrichment and library preparation for clinical NGS. The Apollo 324™ system can be used to process DNA and RNA from clinical samples to next generation sequencing ready libraries. These technologies offer a powerful set of tools for biological analysis at the molecular and single-cell level in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and clinical laboratory industries.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” plan,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements in this press release may address the following subjects among others: statements regarding the sufficiency of our capital resources, expected operating losses, expected revenues, expected expenses, expected cash usage, our expectations regarding our development of future products including single cell analysis technologies and our expectations concerning our competitive position and business strategy. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
CONTACT: INVESTOR CONTACTS: LifeSci Advisors, LLC Brian Ritchie [email protected] WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. Rollie Carlson [email protected]