Ronny Hermansen, CEO of Genetic Analysis, comments:

"A lot of important innovative progress has been demonstrated at GA in the past year, and I am pleased to give an update on all the product development results we have achieved during 2023. This development strengthens our position as a key player in the microbiome diagnostic market and a driver in microbiome diagnostic testing. We are now looking ahead to the coming year, ready to continue our efforts to reach new value-adding milestones and position the Company as a leader in microbiome diagnostic testing."

Strengthen the GA-map® Dysbiosis Test offering to its customers

GA continues its strategy of making microbiome diagnostics available and affordable for any molecular lab, developing innovations to increase the attractiveness of the Company's products. Recently, significant progress has been made on some key user aspects of the GA-map® Dysbiosis Test. The tests now have an extended shelf life of 18 months, surpassing the previous shelf life of 12 months. The reagent kits, once limited to three uses, are now optimized for up to five uses before disposal. These improvements underline the excellent quality of the GA-map® and result in an even more user-friendly and cost-effective product, further strengthening the customer offering and cementing GA as a pioneer in microbiome diagnostics.

Innovative cloud-based software solutions

During the year, the Company has also made a giant leap by launching its cloud-based software solution for the GA-map® platform, and its cloud-based training and onboarding software. The cloud-based GA-map® software enables the lab to upload raw data and instantly receive patient results which are presented in a detailed multilingual result report, all compared to a healthy reference microbiome.

Progress in Chinese cooperation project

Early last year, GA agreed with Thalys Medical Technology Group Corporation (Thalys) to forge a strategic partnership for laboratory-developed microbiome tests (LDT) for the Chinese market. Thalys will use its newly built clinical laboratory in Shanghai to further develop and distribute tests based on GA-map® technology. The recruitment of participants for a clinical trial to establish a healthy Chinese reference range has been completed, and the work on establishing the reference profile is now underway. We anticipate the completion of this transformative initiative in the H1 of the upcoming year.

GA-map® Discovery - for research

As a part of our focus on microbiome research, GA is thrilled to have been able to complete the launch of the GA-map® Discovery, as communicated in October 2023. The GA-map® Discovery is a new cutting-edge product tailored for researchers in academia and the industry that will aid their search for important markers in drug development projects, companion diagnostic projects, or as a support in clinical research projects. The development of this product underscores GA's position at the forefront of microbiome diagnostics, testifying to our dedication to empowering researchers with powerful analytical tools.

A new companion diagnostic marker

During the year, GA has been occupied with completing a pilot project for a Pharma company on a new companion diagnostic test, as communicated in October 2023. GA has ongoing dialogues with Pharma companies, and we are delighted that the GA-map® platform has demonstrated that it facilitates a cost-efficient and fast development program of new targeted diagnostic markers within the microbiome field. GA expects to update on the progress during 2024.

New marker for IBD

The development of a new diagnostic test for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is continuing as planned, with significant sample cohorts being analyzed. The objective is to develop a diagnostic test that utilizes the profile of a microbiome test to predict the disease course of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, which will enable specialists to facilitate personalized treatments. GA receives significant grant funding for this project and is collaborating with the University of Gothenburg and Akershus University Hospital on this project and aims to complete the development of a RuO (Research Use Only) version of this diagnostic marker in late 2024.