Company Announcements 

In January, BioLegend exclusively licensed and entered into a collaborative research agreement with the New York Genome Center for CITE-seq (Ceullar Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes) for research. The technology enables the simultaneous measurement of protein and RNA expression at the single-cell level. The agreement expands BioLegend’s portfolio to genomic and transcriptomic profiling. BioLegend is now providing specific custom CITE-seq antibody conjugates to customers. 

SOPHiA GENETICS announced in February the CE-IVD marking of its genomic test for hematological diseases, calling it the world’s first capture-based myeloid clinical solution to receive the mark.

In February, QIAGEN announced that Sentieon’s DNAseq and TNseq software for germline and somatic variant calling will be added to its CLC Genomics Workbench and QIAGEN Clinical Insight solutions. The expanded capabilities will be launched later this year. QIAGEN’s OmicSoft Array Server currently incorporates Sentieon’s software.

New England Biolabs partnered with Bluebee in February to provide a data processing solution for its NEBNext Direct target enrichment technology.

Innovate UK awarded Eagle Genomics and the Stratified Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre a £1.7 million ($2.4 million) collaborative grant to develop new tests and treatments for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The partners will develop SteatoSITE, a data commons.

Congenica partnered in February with Future Neuro, the SFI Research Centre for Chromic and Rate Neurological Diseases. The software will be designed to make the entire diagnostic process for genetic epilepsy, from sequencing to treatment determinations, available through electronic health records.

In February, 10x Genomics launched Certified Service Provider and 10x Compatible Programs for access to a reliable provider network for outsourcing genomic and single-cell analysis. Initial collaborators are MGI Tech for sequencing; BioLegend and PerkinElmer for sample preparation, PerkinElmer for lab automation; and Integrated DNA Technologies for target enrichment.

In February, 10x Genomics joined the Corporate Partnership Program of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. The company will provide advanced training in single-cell genomics and transcriptomics. 10x Genomics also announced a future expansion of its product line to include CNV, ATAC (Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin)-seq, and feature barcode technology. The feature barcode technology will offer a way to use the Chromium System for single-cell multi-assay development, including co-measurement of protein abundance and gene expression, or how to measure the impact of CRISPR perturbations upon gene expression of single cells.

GenomeNext in February announced the embedding of Gemonenon’s Mastermind search results in its Olympus Platform to simplify and accelerate variant curation for genomic analysis.

Verogen, which exclusively provides Illumina’s sequencing technology for forensic genomics applications (see IBO 8/31/17), announced in February that it began shipping products in the Americas this month, and will begin shipping in the EMEA and China in March. The company offers the MiSeq FGx and ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit.

Clinical genomics software company PierianDx has raised $3 million, as part of a $5 million offering, according to a February SEC filing.

Product Introductions

Phase Genomics introduced in January the Proximo Hi-C kit, calling it the first commercially available Hi-C kits for plants and animals. The kit does not require high–molecular weight DNA extraction, or any special growing or culturing techniques.

In January, Illumina launched the BaseSpace Sequence Hub, a cloud-based solution for genomic data storage, management and analysis, in China.

Mission Bio released in February the Tapestri Custom Panels for single-cell analysis with a throughput of up to 10,000 cells per run. The Tapestri single-cell genomics solution consists of an instrument, consumables and software.

In February, Genedata introduced the Genedata Selector for Biosafety for the efficient management and analysis of all NGS data relevant for biosafety assessment, in addition to automatic report generation compliant with GMP workflows.

Oxford Nanopore launched in February for early access the Flongle, an adaptor for its MinION and GRIDion system that enables smaller, single-use flow cells for smaller samples. The company also released the MinIT, a preconfigured IT solution that replaces a laptop for the MinION or Flongle.

In February, NuGEN Technologies debuted the Celero DNA-Seq library preparation kit, featuring a fast, addition-only workflow that eliminates in-process bead purifications. Master mixes that contain all components needed for each step are supplied in the kit. The kit is available with both Unique Dual Indexes to detect index hopping and Metaplex barcode options to increase multiplexing. The offering also features the novel NuQuant quantitation approach.

DNAnexus debuted in February its Clinical Trial Solution, which streamlines the use of NGS data in regulated clinical trials. The solution combines secondary analysis, interpretation and translational informatics solutions. Precision medicine firm Almac Diagnostics is one of the first customers of the service.

In February, Dovetail Genomics introduced its first commercial service for analysis of human genomes with the launch of the Dovetail Hi-C and Fix-C with Selva SV Detection Software as a Service. The company also announced the acceptance of customers for its Early Access Development Program for TAD analysis for evaluation of the 3D structure of the genome and genome folding.

In February, Illumina launched the S1 flow cell for its NovaSeq 6000 sequencer, which delivers similar output levels and number of reads as HiSeq instruments.

SeraCare Life Sciences unveiled in February the Seraseq Breast CNV, and Seraseq Lung and Brain CNV Mix reference materials. The company called them the first set of dedicated CNV reference materials for NGS assays.

The Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, a public-private partnership between the Bioinformatics Graduate Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology and consulting firm IHRC, announced in February a new algorithm for rapid and accurate genomic profiling.

In February, Swift Biosciences released the Accel-NGS XL Library Prep Kit for whole-genome sequencing using Pacific Biosciences platforms. The Kit is sold exclusively by Swift Biosciences.

Twist Bioscience debuted in February several new offerings for NGS, including the Twist Human Core Exome Kit for library preparation and target enrichment, and Custom Panels offerings. Twist Bioscience stated that it believes it is the only company to offer double-stranded DNA probes within a comprehensive target enrichment kit used for exome and targeted sequencing.

Hamilton launched in February the ID NIMBUS assay ready workstation, specifically preconfigured and qualified to automate post-PCR sample processing using Verogen’s ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit. It is part of a complete, fully validated DNA-to-data solution. It includes four independent pipetting channels.

Sales and Orders of Note 

In January, IntegraGen, which provides tools for analysis and therapeutic individualization of treatments for oncology, added Twist Bioscience’s Human Core Exome Complete Kit to its NGS offerings. IntegraGen is the first company in France to adopt the product.

Diagnostics and research firm MedGenome announced in January the addition of Illumina’s HiSeqX and NovaSeq 6000 platforms to its operations. The company also added Agilent Technologies’ sample processing automation to support its sequencing capacity. MedGenome also uses 10x Genomics’ Chromium Genome Solution.

Quest Diagnostics announced in February on its blog that it is now offering Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Oncomine Dx Target Test.

In February, BC Platforms announced that Pfizer Finland will be using its technology solutions, including BCRQUEST.COM, to study data in cardiovascular diseases. Both companies are part of the FinnGen project.