Shenzhen, China—BGI launched its self-sampling NGS-based HPV genotyping product, Sentis^TM-HPVseq, to the global market today. This product provides detection of both high-risk and low-risk HPV types, which is recognized as an effective method for primary cervical cancer screening.

The method used in this HPV genotyping sequencing assay was developed by BGI research team, which has been validated in a large population-based study involving 10000 people. This research was published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, showing that the outcome of self-sampling kit combined with BGI’s NGS assay was comparable to MALDI-TOF assay, a Mass Spectral-based method also developed by BGI in 2011. In addition, BGI’s HPV test also exhibited excellent applicability in the population-based screening project owing to its higher-throughput and lower cost in comparison to traditional PCR-based method.

Free HPV screening has been offered in an increasing number of areas in China. BGI and local governments in China have announced substantial agreements on providing free HPV screening to local population for cervical cancer prevention within the framework of Healthy China 2030. Until today, BGI has sequenced around 2 million HPV samples and has found the HPV positive rate is approximate 10 percent.

Besides domestic collaboration, BGI is also participating in an international collaborative study under the VALGENT Framework, a robust framework for HPV test validation and comparison funded by EU. In the future, BGI will keep active exploration for the opportunity of global cooperation.