DXVX Files Patent for Technology to Reduce PCR False Positives

[Financial News] DX&Vx has developed diagnostic technology to address false positives that occur when trace amounts of genetic material are detected in real-time polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) tests, and has filed a patent application. The technology improves testing reliability while maintaining existing PCR equipment and procedures. The company plans to expand its business from the research reagent market into infectious disease diagnostics and quarantine.
DX&Vx said on the 11th that it had given the technology its own brand, MeltPic, and was pursuing entry into the global molecular diagnostics market.
Gene amplification is a testing method that determines the presence of infection and other conditions by measuring fluorescent signals generated as target genes are amplified. However, when a specimen contains only a very small amount of the target gene, the signal may appear late in the amplification process, making it difficult to distinguish a reaction caused by the actual target from a false positive resulting from a nonspecific reaction. During the COVID-19 pandemic, testing sites also faced confusion, with repeat tests being conducted over weak-positive results showing high Ct values.
Previously, results were checked further through repeat testing, sequencing, or digital PCR (dPCR), but these methods required separate equipment and reagents and increased testing time and costs.
MeltPic is designed to determine, in a single closed testing process, whether an amplification signal comes from the actual target, while using existing gene amplification equipment and testing procedures as they are. Its key feature is improved accuracy in identifying false positives without separate confirmatory tests or new equipment. The company expects its high compatibility with existing equipment to also facilitate technology transfers and the supply of dedicated reagents.
DX&Vx plans to enter the research-use-only (RUO) market first, which does not require government approval. Its first application will be reagents for analyzing gene (RNA) expression using small amounts of skin cells collected during skin clinical trials. The company believes demand for skin gene expression analysis is also growing as human application tests to scientifically verify product efficacy increase in the cosmetics and inner beauty markets. Because the small number of cells obtained in skin trials can produce weak signals, the plan is to apply the technology to improve the reliability of detecting trace amounts of target material.
Earlier, DX&Vx was selected, together with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), for a 7.1 billion won national next-generation sequencing (NGS) project funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT. 
DX&Vx CEO Kim Young-jong said, “MeltPic is significant because it can improve the reliability of tests for trace amounts of target material while continuing to use existing equipment. After validating the technology in the research reagent market, we will expand its application to infectious disease diagnostics and quarantine.”

[email protected] Jung Sang-hee Reporter