Company Announcements

In August, CRO MolecularMD announced the validation of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Oncomine Tumor Mutation Load Assay for clinical research trials to aid immunotherapy drug development programs.

In September, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that it will work with China-based Genetron Health to develop applications for its Thermo Fisher Ion Genestudio S5 Plus platform. Genetron Health has developed and registered supporting kits on the Ion Genestudio S5 Plus platform based on clinical needs, and a series of clinical diagnostics products for different cancer types will be launched. The companies initially signed a cooperation agreement in April 2016. The 3D Genetron biochip reader, based on Thermo Fisher’s technical platform, has been approved by China Chongqing Food and Drug Administration.

NRGene partnered with Israeli-based cannabis research firm RCK in September to develop a comprehensive set of DNA markers representing the broad diversity within commercial medicinal cannabis.

In September, BGI announced a collaboration with the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on a new pediatric research initiative to understand the genetic causes of and links between childhood cancer and structural birth defects.

Seven Bridges announced in September the launch of the new Kids First Data Resource Portal with the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center (DRC) at the Center for Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine (D3b) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Researchers will use Seven Bridges’ CAVATICA platform, which is integrated with the Kids First Data Resource Portal, to access and analyze data.

In September, Seven Bridges and e-NIOS entered into a strategic partnership for data-driven discovery of biomarker signatures. e-NIOS’ technology enables unsupervised, intelligent translation of -omics data through BioInfoMiner, a cloud platform that resolves biological complexity and derives molecular signatures suitable for data-driven interpretation in different conditions, physiological states and datasets.

Cogenica named in September Digital China Health Technologies as a distributor for China to hospitals.

In September, China-based Genecast Biotechnology announced a strategic partnership with Illumina to develop a cancer diagnosis system and kit targeting colorectal cancer. This is the first time that an IVD kit based on Illumina NGS technology will be developed for this type of cancer in China. Genecast will also develop a cancer diagnosis system and kit aimed at lung cancer based on Illumina’s NGS technology.

Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics, a pre-analytical systems and molecular solutions company, announced the validation of its PrimeSeqMDR across a wide range of well characterized clinical strains of MTB from the Ukraine and South Africa. PrimeSeqMDR is a targeted gene sequencing kit developed for the Illumina MiSeq Next Generation Sequencing system to determine drug sensitivity from clinical and cultured specimens.

In September, SOPHiA GENETICS opened operations in Boston, Massachusetts. In the US, SOPHiA GENETICS supports more than one hundred university hospitals.

Genomics software firm BC Platforms announced in September the addition of the THL Biobank, hosted by the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, to its Global Network of Biobanks. BC Platforms is providing its BCRQUEST.com platform.

In September, Diagenode gained exclusive rights to the ChIPmentation technology that it launched last year from the Research Center of Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The ChIPmentation system encompasses a unique methodology that integrates chromatin immunoprecipitation with a ligation-free library preparation for high-throughput sequencing.

Product Introductions

In September, Thermo Fisher Scientific released a new workflow for its Oncomine Tumor Mutation Load Assay, featuring new software to provide customers more flexibility in their TMB experiment designs.

ABclonal Technology introduced in September a new line of NGS library preparation kits, marking the company’s expansion from proteomics tools and reagents to genetic research reagents. The Rapid DNA Lib Prep Kit and StepWise DNA Lib Prep Kit are available in 8-­, 24-­ and 96-­reaction formats, starting from $218 per kit. The Stranded mRNA Lib Prep Kit and Non­Stranded mRNA Lib Prep Kit are available in 24-­ and 96­reaction formats, starting from $558 per kit.

In September, Paragon Genomics introduced the ParagonDesigner, a web-based tool that enables rapid design of CleanPlex Custom NGS Panels. The company can deliver custom NGS panels in 2–4 weeks.