Molecular Science is the biotechnology subsidiary of the Healthscope Group of Companies. This unit of the Gribbles Group was recently established in early 2002 with the opening of a Molecular Biology facility at the Group’s Clayton (Australia) laboratory. Dr Keith Byron (General Manager of Molecular Science) was instrumental at establishing the division’s laboratory and expanding its services to encompass both human and veterinary pathology.

The 3 main aims of this unit are to:

• Improve current DNA diagnostic technologies
• Create & develop novel technologies for wide range testing in existing & new areas
• Develop & deliver cost-effective genetic testing.

The department uses the latest technology such as state-of-the-art molecular techniques and instrumentation to analyze genetic sequences in DNA to establish the presence of genetic disease. Currently Molecular Science is the only laboratory worldwide to perform routine single cell DNA fingerprinting.

Molecular Science specializes in developing and providing a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art genomic applications for a variety of market sectors. Some of the sectors include human and animal healthcare, breeding improvement programs, prenatal genetic diagnostics, pharmacogenomics, predictive testing, food and water quality testing, seed varietal testing as well as forensic DNA analysis.

Breakthroughs
Pharmacogenomics
Pharmacogenomics is a science that examines the inherited variations in genes that dictate drug response and explores the ways these variations can be used to predict whether a patient will have a good response to a drug, a bad response to a drug, or no response at all.

With this range of pharmacogenomic tests, clinicians are able to make better, informed decisions about the type and dose of medicines they prescribe. Assays for anti-depressants, traditional anti-psychotics and anti-coagulants such as warfarin have already been developed and are currently available. This breakthrough allows doctors to customize medical management for individual patients based on their genetic profiles bringing the pursuit of ‘personalized medicine’ to reality.

Other Tests
Molecular Science also offers animal DNA fingerprinting parentage testing for breeding improvement programs (for both companion pets as well as livestock) and also performs commercial genotyping, sequencing & SNP analysis.

Clinical Trials
Prenatal Diagnosis from Pap Smears
Currently only high-risk mothers (i.e. above 35 years, history of pregnancy complications etc) are advised to be screened for genetic abnormalities in their unborn children due to the invasive nature of the present screening techniques (chorionic villous sampling and amniocentesis) that carry a risk of miscarriage and infection. These invasive screens are expensive and can only be performed by specialists. The problem lies in that about 80% of Downs Syndrome children are from non high risk mothers and fetal abnormalities are only detected late in the pregnancy (e.g. at the 20 weeks ultrasound scan). This calls for a safer screening method that can be available to all expecting mothers at a low cost. Molecular Science’s breakthrough of collecting the baby’s cells from a routine pap smear in the early stages of gestation has many advantages. It is safer and non-invasive, can be performed by General Practitioners, has a fast turn around time and is more economical. With these factors, all pregnant women can be screened. This test is currently undergoing clinical trials in Australia and we are hopeful it will be commercially available soon.

Other Trials
Molecular Science is currently working on other tests such as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis i.e. screening IVF embryos for abnormalities. 30-50% of IVF embryos are abnormal and by screening them for abnormalities such as sex-linked disorders, cystic fibrosis, trisomies etc, the chances of a successful pregnancy can be increased. Other single cell DNA fingerprinting tests being developed by Molecular Science include forensic DNA analysis of single cells and “difficult” samples, ID-Tagging for sample tracking (pathology / forensic samples), identification tagging (animal and human) for biosecurity and document security & tagging for biosecurity & counter-terrorism. Another area Molecular Science is also researching on is the predictive value of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) which is the most common form of genetic variation. Current applications still being developed include genetic testing (e.g. blood groups, ABO, Rhesus, Kell & Factor V), genetic diagnosis (e.g. cystic fibrosis) and risk assessment for diseases such as breast, prostate, colorectal cancers, osteoporosis and mental health (i.e. predicting depression, bipolar, addictive disorders etc).