Origin Advances Mucosal Diagnostics with Breakthrough DNA Extraction Method

Origin Advances Mucosal Diagnostics with Breakthrough DNA Extraction Method

Origin, in collaboration with Primer Design, has announced the successful development and validation of a novel DNA extraction methodology designed specifically for rectal mucus biospecimens, marking a significant step forward in the scalability and reliability of next generation gut diagnostics.

Traditional approaches to gut health analysis have long relied on indirect or compromised sample types, such as blood or stool, both of which present limitations in accuracy, consistency, and contamination. The OriCol™ sampling device addresses this gap by enabling minimally invasive collection of rectal mucus, a biospecimen that offers a more direct and representative view of the gut environment.

Unlocking the full diagnostic value of this sample type required overcoming a critical bottleneck: efficient and reproducible DNA extraction from mucus matrices. Existing market leading extraction kits, while effective for other sample types, demonstrated poor and inconsistent performance when applied to mucus, with significant DNA loss and variability across samples.

Through a close technical collaboration, Origin and Primer Design developed a custom extraction workflow, RM Exsig Mag, engineered specifically for mucus bound clinical specimens. The results demonstrate a clear step change in performance. Across multiple comparative studies, RM Exsig Mag consistently achieved minimal DNA loss and maintained high quality recovery across both manual and automated workflows.

Quality control analysis further reinforced these findings, with the new methodology achieving 100 percent pass rates within accepted thresholds and outperforming all tested commercial alternatives, many of which failed the majority of samples. This level of consistency is critical for enabling reliable downstream applications, from early cancer detection and treatment monitoring to broader disease surveillance.

Beyond technical performance, the collaboration highlights the strength of combining Origin’s novel sampling platform with Primer Design’s molecular and extraction expertise. Together, this creates a fully integrated system capable of generating high fidelity biological data from previously underutilised sample types.

This advancement positions the OriCol™ platform as a foundational technology for a new class of diagnostics, one that moves closer to the source of disease biology while maintaining scalability for both clinical and consumer applications.

As development continues, this milestone reflects both companies’ shared focus on unlocking new diagnostic frontiers and advancing precision health through purpose built, end to end solutions.