Teragen Bio Obtains Patent for NGS-Based COVID-19 Diagnosis

Teragen Bio, a global genome analysis service and artificial intelligence (AI)-based new drug development company, announced on the 23rd that it has obtained the first patent in Korea for a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based COVID-19 diagnosis and variant determination system.

Teragen Bio CI
Photo by Teragen Bio

This patent relates to a coronavirus diagnostic system capable of simultaneously detecting various COVID-19 variants. It complements the limitations of the existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic method and has the advantage of detecting multiple variants at the same time. The conventional method of diagnosing diseases by separating DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) and amplifying nucleic acids has limitations in accuracy for diseases with frequent mutations, such as viruses. However, Teragen Bio's patented technology collects variant information of the virus and diagnoses COVID-19 positivity through NGS gene panel design.

In particular, as awareness of viral infectious diseases has increased since COVID-19, the need for accurate diagnosis for efficient national-level epidemic management has steadily grown. Previously, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency proposed a mid- to long-term plan for preparing for new infectious disease pandemics, including the establishment of an integrated infectious disease surveillance system and the advancement of the quarantine information integration system. Teragen Bio expects that this patent will broaden the options for diagnostic methods for COVID-19 variants and new infectious diseases in the future and increase demand for gene panel analysis.

Hwang Tae-soon, CEO of Teragen Bio, stated, “While conventional PCR diagnostics typically examine fewer than 10 genes, NGS technology analyzes over one million genes, which is 10,000 times more, allowing not only the identification of cluster infections during epidemics but also the establishment of infection routes and national-level quarantine policies. The NGS next-generation sequencing technology, which was previously only available for research purposes, has expanded into the field of infectious disease diagnosis as it has become possible to perform fast and accurate analysis through the integration of systematic algorithms and large-scale IT systems.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.