◼Obtaining a patent for COVID-19 diagnosis of virus variants through NGS gene panel analysis... 'Expectations' to overcome limitations of conventional PCR analysis.

◼"With NGS diagnostics, it is possible to identify everything from group infection status to transmission routes and variants... Expected to contribute to the establishment of a national integrated infectious disease surveillance system."

Theragen Bio(CEO: Samuel Hwang), a global genomic analysis service and AI-based drug development company, has obtained a patent (Application No: 10-2021-0154442) for the NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing) based COVID-19 diagnostic and variant determination system, the first of its kind in Korea.

According to the company, the patent is for a COVID-19 diagnostic system that can simultaneously diagnose various SARS-CoV-2 variants, addressing the limitations of conventional PCR diagnostic methods and offering the advantage of detecting multiple variants simultaneously. Traditional methods of diagnosing diseases by amplifying nucleic acids after separating DNA and RNA had limitations in accuracy for diseases with frequent mutations, such as viruses. Theragen Bio's patented technology 

collects variant information of the virus and diagnoses the presence of COVID-19 through NGS gene panel design.

Particularly, since the outbreak of COVID-19, the importance of accurate diagnosis for virus infections has steadily increased, along with the need for efficient infectious disease management at a national level. In response, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has recently introduced a medium-to-long-term plan (draft) for pandemic preparedness, which includes the establishment of an integrated infectious disease monitoring system and enhancement of the infectious disease control information integration system. The company expects that this patent will expand the options for diagnosing COVID-19 variants and new infectious diseases and contribute to the increasing demand for gene panel analysis.

Samuel Hwang stated, "Conventional PCR diagnostics typically examine fewer than 10 genes, but NGS technology is capable of analyzing over one million genes, which is thousands of times more comprehensive. It is not only useful for determining group infection status during an outbreak but also for identifying transmission routes and formulating national-level preventive measures. This patent signifies the expansion of NGS next-generation sequencing technology from its previous use for research purposes to the field of infectious disease diagnosis, combining systematic algorithms and large-scale IT systems for rapid and accurate analysis."

Furthermore, Theragen Bio has accumulated over 14 years of expertise in BI analysis, providing genomic big data service DEEPOMICS® and various BI analysis pipelines. Based on a data QC system with over 10 years of know-how, the company aims to ensure data quality and deliver analysis results more easily through standardized analysis pipelines and reports.