XCyton lines up two more DNA macrochips

XCyton Diagnostics, a Bangalore-based molecular diagnostics products company, is developing two DNA macrochips – for respiratory illness in the aged and a multi-drug resistant chip. A macrochip screens many disease agents at one go.

“The multi-drug resistant chip will be launched by next July, while the macro chip for respiratory illness will be rolled out by November 2010,” said BV Ravi Kumar, managing director of XCyton Diagnostics.

Kumar was speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the two-day International Knowledge Millennium Conference 2009, being organised by IKP Knowledge Park, here on Monday.

XCyton currently has an eye infection detecting macrochip kit, which can take a sample, prepare DNA and amplify it in six hours. The company is providing sample collection and diagnostic services to superspecialty tertiary hospitals in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore.

“Patients of critical infections need such emergency diagnosis. There is a huge requirement for critical infectious diseases testing, the market for which is pegged at $2 billion worldwide. Though there is no concrete study on the domestic market, our internal survey puts the demand for such services at Rs 200 crore in India,” Kumar said.

Stating that the company was currently providing these macrochips through the services model, he said they were building small automated machines, which will enable hospitals to take up testing on their own, at their Bangalore plant. The product will probably be rolled out by December 2012, he added.

“So far, XCYton has been funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI). We are hopeful of getting similar support for our products in the pipeline,” Kumar said, adding that the company was in the process of getting regulatory approvals for its macrochip products from other countries.