Macrogen, a company specializing in precision medicine biotechnology, said on Monday that it is expanding its multiomics business by providing domestic and foreign protein analysis services.
Multiomics is a high-level analytical technique that integrates genomic, transcriptome, and proteome data, and is a key technology for accurate disease diagnosis and development of customized therapies.
In the biotech industry, multiomics is evolving from genomes (DNA· RNA) analysis to liquid biopsy to DNA·RNA proteomic analysis.
Macrogen has launched a protein analysis service by partnering with Olink Proteomics, a global clinical proteomics company based in Sweden. The newly introduced Olink facility uses a plasma protein detection technology called proximity extension assay (PEA), to enable more accurate quantitative analysis of proteins with a smaller number of samples than conventional methods.
Macrogen combines Olink with next-generation sequencing (NGS) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) genomic analysis technology to provide precise analysis services to femtogram samples of blood, saliva, cells, and tissues of 1 microliter.
Macrogen is the first in Korea to obtain Olink certified service provider (CSP) qualifications for protein analysis services.
Protein analysis services are widely used to discover biomarkers in various fields of multiomics clinical research globally. According to research firm, MarketsandMarkets, the global protein market is expected to grow rapidly from $25.9 billion in 2021 to $55.9 billion in 2026.
"The importance of biomarker analysis in recent clinical studies conducted by global pharmaceutical companies is increasing," a Macrogen official said. "Macrogen is expected to play a leading role in multiomics analysis through cooperation with pharmaceutical companies to present new solutions for drug development"
Meanwhile, Macrogen signed a partnership with Olink Proteomics in November last year through its U.S. affiliate, Somagen, to also enter the multiomics clinical research market. Olink Proteomics is well-recognized for its technology in the global protein analysis market, as it has been selected as a flagship technology for protein analysis in the U.K.'s biobank business, the largest in the world.