In August Group of Companies Alkor Bio and Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute received a patent "Method for identifying variants A and B of human herpesvirus type 6". The patent RU 2627607 was issued by Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent). The invention relates to the field of biotechnology, in particular, to the clinical laboratory diagnosis of viral infections and can be used for genotyping of herpesvirus type 6 (HHV-6). Fast and reliable method for identification and differentiation of HHV-6A and HHV-6B types was claimed.

Let us recall that the PCR test for genotyping human herpesvirus type 6 was developed by GC Alkor in 2015. This work was carried out in conjunction with the Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute, at the premises of which the assessment of epidemiological situation at the North-West of Russia for HHV-6 is carrying on. It should be noted that according to the data of foreign scientists in the overwhelming majority of cases of herpesvirus type 6 the subtype B is identified, so subtype A is identified in isolated cases.

The aim of the St. Petersburg medical researchers is not only to assess prevalence of subtypes HHV-6 in Russian Federation, but also to determine whether the severity of the disease depends on HHV-6 subtype. The results of this work were presented by Mikhail Nikolsky – pediatrician, Ph.D., a member of the European Academy of Pediatrics (EAP), at the 10th international conference HHV-6 & 7, which was held in Berlin, Germany on 23-26 July 2017.

The new test was developed by Laboratory of Molecular Diagnostics using its own reagents: Taq AB polymerase (highly purified recombinant enzyme Taq DNA polymerase in complex with two antibodies providing efficient Hot Start) and oligonucleotides synthesized in the oligosynthesis group of the same Laboratory. This test was called "Intifica HHV6A / HHV6B".

For the first time the human herpesvirus type 6 (HHV-6) was isolated in 1986. In 1988, it was shown that HHV-6 causes a sudden exanthema, formerly known as the sixth disease. Human herpesvirus type 6 is a common name for two variants of HHV-6-A (HH-6A) and B (HHV-6B). According to the new international classification adopted in 2012, HHV-6A and HHV-6V are independent taxonomic units, thus the number of human herpes viruses increased from eight to nine.

With this new patent Group of Companies Alkor Bio has fourteen patents, including these in the field of allergodiagnostics, diagnostics of the hepatitis C virus, for the biologically active wound coating, for the biochip for the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, for the methods of treatment with stem cells: severe fractures, periodontitis, and Delayed mental development. It has a European patent "Biotransplant for cell therapy based on mesenchymal stem cells."