LexaGene Holdings Inc (OTCQB:LXXGF) (CVE:LXG) said that it has successfully utilized its MiQLab System to detect the presence of mycoplasmas, a group of common microbial contaminants responsible for substantial losses in both time and money for biopharmaceutical manufacturers.
In a statement, LexaGene founder CEO Dr Jack Regan said: “We are increasingly harnessing the power of our MiQLab to drastically shorten the time-to-result for microbial biopharmaceutical contamination detection. Last month, LexaGene announced it could detect Cutibacterium acnes 36 to 168 times faster than conventional methods.”
“Through our research and development efforts, MiQLab technology can now readily detect mycoplasmas, a group of pervasive and highly problematic contaminants. We expect the time benefit of MiQLab Mycoplasma Test to be up to 300 times faster than conventional methods,” he added.
Dr Regan noted that the findings are “significant” for biopharmaceutical manufacturers and other life science companies.
“We are aggressively developing more tests for this industry so we can provide them a complete solution for their contamination testing needs,” he added.
The bioprocessing workflow involves setting up culture conditions to maximize cellular growth. “Once cells reach a high enough concentration, they are harvested so that biological product can be extracted, isolated, concentrated, and purified to make the final product,” said the company. However, problematically mycoplasmas are thought to contaminate 15 to 80% of cell cultures. Common methods for mycoplasma detection are extremely slow, taking nearly 28 days for definitive results.
In contrast, the Beverly, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company’s MiQLab rapidly detected 100% of the tested mycoplasma samples within two hours, with no false positives.
LexaGene’s MiQLab Mycoplasma Test is designed to detect the most relevant mycoplasma species for microbial contamination in bioprocessing, specifically Mycoplasma arginini, Mycoplasma orale, Mycoplasma hyorhinis, Mycoplasma fermentans, as well as Acholeplasma laidlawii.
To test the specificity of the Mycoplasma Test, LexaGene said very high concentrations of common contaminants (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Cutibacterium acnes) were run on the MiQLab.
“Cultures were incubated and grown between 24 to 72 hours, diluted 10-fold, and run on the MiQLab, which reported no false positives, validating very high specificity for the Mycoplasma Test,” noted the company.
LexaGene’s results demonstrate that the MiQLab system can serve as an alternative to lengthy traditional methods for mycoplasma detection. “Given the MiQLab can be up to 300 times faster than traditional culture testing (around 2 hours versus around 28 days) for a definitive result, the MiQLab can provide a significant time advantage for biopharmaceutical manufacturers,” said the company.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive