CapitalBio to Offer Genotyping Services Using Affymetrix 500K Array in China

Affymetrix Inc., and CapitalBio Corporation have announced that CapitalBio has become a certified Affymetrix Service Provider and will begin offering genotyping services using the Affymetrix GeneChip^® Human Mapping 500K Array Set.

The 500K Array is designed to enable researchers to search across the entire genome in detail to find genes involved in disease or drug response.

CapitalBio has been offering gene expression profiling services using Affymetrix microarray technology for a year.

The two companies have also been working together on joint R&D and commercialization programs, including the development of an advanced GeneChip-compatible personal scanner.

"The gene expression and genotyping market are gaining momentum as more and more international pharmaceutical companies out-source microarray services in China and more and more Chinese scientists employ microarrays to solve biological problems," said David Sun, senior vice president, Business Development and Marketing at CapitalBio.

"As a Certified Affymetrix Service Provider, CapitalBio can now provide broader high quality microarray based services beyond its already extensive products and services to gain information at gene, protein, cell and tissue levels to address the increasing needs of global customers."

"CapitalBio has been offering microarray services using Affymetrix technology for more than a year and has demonstrated its ability to provide quality services using 500K arrays," said Wei Zhou, vice president and country manager of China at Affymetrix.

"Affymetrix is committed to enabling the Chinese scientific community to access to all of the statistical power in the Affymetrix genotyping arrays to gain a better understanding of the genetic causes of complex disease."