Austin, Texas – May 30, 2013. Asuragen Inc., a leading molecular diagnostic company, announced today the launch of its SuraSeq™ Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Service in its CAP accredited CLIA Laboratory. The SuraSeq™ 500 Clinical Cancer Panel was designed in response to guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and will be the first of several targeted oncology panels to be offered in its clinical laboratory. The SuraSeq™ 500 Clinical Panel interrogates 17 key cancer pathway genes and more than 500 annotated COSMIC mutations.

Data presented today at the NGS Translate World Forum in Cambridge, MA, demonstrated that a novel pre- analytical, analytical, and post-analytical QC process developed by Asuragen plays a critical role in guiding reliable mutation calling in FFPE samples. Furthermore, different NGS platforms can be leveraged across broad and focused panels using Asuragen’s SuraSeq™ process to achieve accurate detection of high value, clinically actionable DNA

The SuraSeq™ Panel is available for pharmaceutical partners seeking high resolution and high sensitivity variant analysis of “hotspot” regions within genes from cancer-related pathways, such as the MEK/MAP kinase and PIK3/AKT signaling pathways. Asuragen applies its extensive expertise with FFPE biopsies, assay development, and innovative bioinformatic algorithms to deliver high quality NGS data from challenging clinical samples, with a focus on sensitivity and accuracy.

“We are committed to expanding our CLIA laboratory service offering to include Next Generation Sequencing enabling our pharmaceutical partners access to clinically validated panels as well as customized NGS panels that can be used in their clinical trials. Our mission as a 21st century molecular diagnostic company is to bring personalized medicine solutions to our partners,” said Carol Berry, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Asuragen’s Pharmacogenomic Services Division.

This project was funded in part by a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Commercialization grant.

About SuraSeq™ NGS Services
The use of genomic profiling to discover novel, disease-associated mutations has enormous potential to improve clinical decision-making. Asuragen specializes in targeted next-generation sequencing for sensitive detection of clinically actionable mutations from limiting DNA quantities. SuraSeq™ NGS Services are optimized to provide high resolution mutation profiling from challenging clinical biopsies through a combination of quantitative sample characterization and qualification, novel enrichment designs that specifically accommodate poor quality DNA, and innovative bioinformatics algorithms that call low abundance mutations with high sensitivity and positive predictive value.

About Asuragen
Asuragen is a molecular diagnostics company with a pioneering position in miRNA using genomics to drive better patient management through best-in-class clinical testing solutions. The Company uses a breadth of technologies and talent to discover, develop and commercialize diagnostic products and clinical testing services with efficiency and flexibility both internally and for our companion diagnostic partners. Today, Asuragen’s products, services and technologies drive countless patient management decisions across oncology, genetic disease and other molecular testing modalities. In the future, we envision the Company’s development of miRNA-based clinical diagnostics will help transform medicine by improving clinical outcomes and health economics. For more information, visit www.asuragen.com.