The International Conference on Advances in Molecular Diagnostics and Precision Medicine (AMDP) began on 15th September 2022 at Anna University, Chennai and will continue till 17th September. The conference revolves around various facets of Molecular Diagnostics and Precision Medicine as the major area and Drug discovery and Development and Nanotechnology as parallel sessions. The conference has attracted over 800 delegates that include experts from the field of Molecular Diagnostics, Personalized Cancer Therapies, Infectious Diseases, Rare Diseases, Bio-Nanotechnology, etc. Apart from insights from some of the best minds in medicine and medical technology, the conference also hosts investors who are interested to explore emerging technologies.
AMDP 2022 also witnesses product launches by MagGenome Technologies Pvt. Ltd. They have specifically strengthened the sector of medical diagnostics by launching XpressAutoMag range of products for DNA and RNA extraction from biological samples. These unique products will fill the gap in the current market by providing DNA extraction using MagGenome’s proprietary Magnetic Nano Particle (MNP) technology that will improve efficiency, and reduce time and cost for the general public. This has applications in doing faster tests for the general public as well as for large-scale industries.
DNA and RNA extraction using MNP technology will improve yield, purity and quality in comparison to the currently existing solutions in India. Additionally, MagGenome’s flexible, automated nucleic acid extraction platform will provide stable and reproducible results at a low cost. This technology will effectively avoid cross-contamination and ensure high quality of extracted nucleic acids and will further enhance global applications in research and diagnostic capabilities in the field of molecular diagnostics and genomics. This will also strengthen ‘Made in India products for the World’ in the clinical diagnostics sector.
Several speakers and participants from Life Sciences and Diagnostics companies like MagGenome Technologies Pvt. Ltd., KMTC, KLIP, Genes2me, Neuberg diagnostics, Nanostrings, Premas Biotech, Levim Biotech, SPT Labtech, ThermoFisher Scientific, Bioengineering, GenNext Genomics Pvt Ltd., iOrbitz and Institutes like CCMB, IGIB, NCBS, CDFD, AIIMS, and CHARUSAT will attend the event. The Patron of the conference is Mr. Sam Santhosh. Dr. CN Ramchand and Dr. S Meenakshi Sundaram are the Conference Conveners and Dr. Aniruddha Bhati is the Organising Secretary.
AMDP-2022 is the first of its kind, organised by SciGenom Research Foundation (SGRF), a not-for-profit organization, that works toward promoting Science in India through research and education, with a specific focus on Molecular Diagnostics and Precision Medicine. AMDP hosted well-known dignitaries in the field coming together to augment their research activities with Indian scientists and companies as partners. This will provide a much-needed boost to the research in these sectors that shows promise to deal with communicable and non-communicable diseases around the world. The program also includes a ‘Healthcare Investors Panel discussion’ which will be moderated by Mr. Sam Santhosh, a well-known Healthcare Investor and Chairman of SciGenom group of companies. The other investors that are present at the event include 3ONE4 Capital, TPG, Eight Roads, Leapfrog investments and Sofina to list a few.
The Conference will also provide student scholarships, poster awards, young scientist awards and lifetime achievement awards to deserving candidates and proven performers in the field.
About SciGenom Research Foundation
SciGenom Research Foundation (SGRF), a not-for-profit organization, is working to promote Science in India through research and education. Currently, the foundation is involved in several research initiatives that are typically not funded by government agencies but are identified as scientifically relevant and important in consultation with the scientific advisory board. Research activities of SGRF span a wide range of areas including Agriculture, Animal Health, Biodiversity, Genomics, Snake Venom and Human Health. These research works have contributed to many publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals – the highlights being the Nature Dec 2019 cover page on Genome Asia and Nature Genetics Jan 2020 cover page on the Indian Cobra Genome. The ongoing projects include the study of genomics of coloured rice, metagenomics of rivers in India, wild elephant viral disease genomics, tea looper biocontrol agent development, familial cancer genomics and human genome variation studies.
In addition to research activities, the education arm SGRF Conferences has conducted several educational workshops and international conferences to promote science in India. Besides educational activities, SGRF has instituted awards to recognize outstanding educators and support students through scholarships.
About MagGenome Technologies
MagGenome Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is an India-based company headquartered in Cochin that started operations in 2014 in the field of nano-biotechnology. The primary focus of MagGenome is on developing magnetic nanoparticles-based technologies that are technically proficient and industrially viable for life science, chemical, pharmaceutical and engineering applications. It was incubated in SciGenom Labs for one year and has been a registered independent company since 2015. MagGenomes key focus is to become the most reliable solution provider for molecular diagnostics and genomics research by making processes faster, cheaper and more efficient. Its key vision is to introduce first-in-class products by attaining excellence driven by cutting-edge research with the highest standards of quality. MagGenome’s core competencies include Nanotechnology, Nucleic acid and Protein purification and Process automation.
MagGenomes product line includes DNA and RNA extraction kits under the brand name XpressDNA and XpressRNA. MagGenome is now introducing several key products like Diagnostic and research-based applications. These products include XpressAutoMag kits (Automated nucleic acid extraction instruments and kits), XpressPure beads (Next generation sequencing size selection beads) and XpressDx kits (Nucleic acid-based diagnostic kits). One of MagGenome’s key strengths is the ability to quickly develop products with world-class acceptability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, MagGenome developed and got regulatory approvals for its COVID-19 detection kits within a short time. Products developed by MagGenome were used for close to 25 million tests in India during the pandemic.
MagGenome has recently started its operations in the USA with its subsidiary called MagGenome Inc. The company is poised to deliver several cutting-edge products and cover newer geographies in the times to come.
About Centre for Biotechnology (Anna University)
The Centre for Biotechnology at Anna University was established in 1984 right after the emergence of the new technology globally. As a forerunner in Biotechnology education and research, it is aptly established in a premier technical university supporting multidisciplinary growth along with other engineering and technologies of wide diversity rarely seen in any other university or institution.
This centre has a unique commitment to educating a broad spectrum of students – including undergraduate, post-graduate, and research scholars. Starting with M.Tech Biotechnology for 12 students in 1985, the Centre has expanded into a large Department now offering B.Tech, M.Tech, and PhD programmes in Industrial Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Technology, Food Technology and Computational Biology for 800 students and more than 100 research scholars respectively.
The students and scholars are well-placed all over the world, mostly abroad, and are in great demand in industries, academics, and research institutions. Its pioneering curriculum is a model for many other Biotech institutions across the country and its practical training in Bioprocess engineering, Stem cell technology, Recombinant technology, protein engineering, molecular cell biology, and Bioinformatics is highly valued. Significantly, a rapid detection kit for filariasis that is marketed in India and Africa, and industrial bioprocesses in operation are some of the product-oriented research outcomes. The department strives in imparting quality technical education and research in advanced and emerging areas of Industrial, Medical, pharmaceutical and food applications of Biotechnology.