BioGene has developed a method for detecting viral pathogens directly from crude samples such as blood, removing the requirement for complex lab facilities or expert use. This work will progress this technology by demonstrating that it is also possible to identify changes in a patient's genetic makeup that may make drugs more or less efficacious, this is known as pharmacogenomics, using the same technology. The method works by adding a small drop of blood into a plastic reaction vessel that contains reagents freeze dried within, meaning tests can be shipped round the world without refrigeration. Once the reagents are resuspended and the blood is added, the sample is quickly frozen -- to break open infected cells, then heated and this, in conjunction with the reagents -- lyses the virus in the sample. This feasibility study will provide proof of concept data showing that the method can also be expanded for use on saliva, cheek swabs and urine as well as blood, simple and non-invasive samples, and that the human genome can be amplified directly by the technique. There are many innovative features in this approach, it is normally necessary to take a large amount of patient sample and have this processed by scientists in a dedicated lab, which is costly and time consuming. Being able to detect direct from crude samples, reduces the cost per test, time to giving patients results and makes it possible to make a portable instrument that can be used at the point of patient need or in remote areas with no infrastructure. Commercially, the technology can be applied to a number of areas apart from pharmacogenomics, including human and veterinary diagnostics and forensics. As a result there is a significant potential for growth and export of this UK manufactured technology, in which the market is traditionally dominated by American companies. The technology has the potential to help ensure that patients receive the right drugs for their personal genetic profile. The outputs of this project will be a prototype instrument and reaction vessel for the direct amplification of human genomic DNA from blood, cheek swabs, urine and saliva. Alongside this will be an assay and data set demonstrating the sensitivity of the approach which will be used to drive commercial uptake. The method can also detect the presence of bacterial and viral pathogens and so has wide healthcare application.

This project will generate a rapid diagnostic instrument for the detection of soil-borne pathogens. The instrument will eventually be able to test for a range of economically important diseases of animal and plants but the initial proof of principle will be the detection of Verticillium longisporum. The disease verticillium wilt has spread to the UK and can cause yield losses of over 20% in ecomically important crops such as oilseed rape. This consortium brings a wide range of skills to solving this problem and will generate a diagnostic test and investigate intervention methods to manage the impact of the disease. The outcome will be increased agricultural output, management of this and other soil-borne diseases, and generation of UK employment, exports and revenues.