History

DxTerity was founded in June 2006 by Dr. Bob Terbrueggen with the vision of enabling genomic testing in routine medical care. Despite the vast potential of genomics to improve healthcare, the high cost and complexity of the instruments and tests have limited their broad usage.  While most companies have focused on developing new and more sensitive instruments to read the genetic information, Bob realized that the front-end sample preparation and amplification steps were often the limiting factor.  He witnessed this first-hand at Motorola, when the electronic detection based eSensor® platform was forced into the reference laboratory as a high cost, high throughput instrument even though a low-cost handheld version of the system existed.  DxDirectTM was invented to solve the sample prep bottleneck, and it accomplishes this goal by reinventing the "chemistry" of genomic testing.  

During its first couple of years, the company was focused on developing the proprietary chemistry that enables DxDirect.  The resulting NEAT® Chemistry not only virtually eliminates sample preparation, but it also enables the analysis of complex gene signatures with a cost, convenience and time to result no other platform can match today. The end result is a dramatically simplified testing process that uses existing instrumentation.

In 2009, Duke University Medical Center and DxTerity teamed up to simplify the testing of blood based gene expression signatures.  This collaboration resulted in the award of a multi-year, $43 million dollar contract to develop a high throughput test for radiation exposure based on DxDirect.  This program is funded by BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority) and it is now in its 3rd year.  A recent study by NATO showed the resulting REDI-DxTM RUO* (Radiation Exposure Dosage Index) test to be among the most accurate and by far the fastest test for determining radiation exposure in the world and it only requires a single drop of blood.  This 30 biomarker test takes as little as 1 hour to run and costs less than $50.  REDI-DxTM RUO* is both a valuable addition to the world's nuclear preparedness options, and it is also an excellent illustration of how DxDirect can enable genomic testing in routine medical care.  

DxTerity is now expanding the DxDirect Application Menu to include tests for cancer screening, cardiovascular disease, and for guiding sepsis treatment.  In late 2011, DxTerity announced a partnership with Caliper Life Sciences, a division of Perkin Elmer, to develop tests on the LabChip Dx system for the clinical laboratory market.  In 2012, DxTerity opened its new laboratory in Rancho Dominguez, California to support its growing research and commercial operations.

*For Research Use Only.  Not for use in diagnostic procedures.