Udmurtia scientists offer biochips for cell diagnostics

Print 04 April 2016
Marchmont Innovation News

Scientists in Izhevsk, in Udmurtia in the Volga area, have developed biochips to screen cells, which analysts believe could challenge competitors in both domestic and international markets. 

Izhevsk biochips “have certain advantages over their foreign analogs,” said Alexander Shishkin, the head of an experimental laboratory at the Izhevsk State Medical Academy. 

The scientist noted that existing methods “are relatively expensive and enable the identification of a limited number of antigens.” “In our situation, everything is pinpointed easily in an ordinary lab environment; the system enables the identification of several dozen antigens, and at a very low cost,” Mr. Shishkin said. 

The system is said to enable all-out cell examination, as “the biochip is good enough for sweeping screening of populations to find most widespread cell pathologies.” 

The production cost of a biochip is between nine cents and just under one dollar, with the average market price of $5.5-7 apiece. According to Mr. Shishkin, Russian market demand for such a biochip is between 200,000 and 300,000 chips a year in hematology, between 20 and 30 million in clinical immunology, and, if used for widespread federal healthcare programs, about 100 million biochips or more a year. 

The payback period is projected to be four to six years.

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