El Segundo, CA – BioDiscovery, Inc., a leader in innovative genomic software solutions, announced that Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA), an award-winning hospital with comprehensive medical care services and programs for children, has signed on as a BioDiscovery Center of Excellence for Clinical Genomics to serve as a reference site for others seeking information and training on BioDiscovery’s NxClinical software. This follows the announcement of the selection of Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS) as BioDiscovery’s Center of Excellence in Australia on April 1, 2019.

The Department of Personalized Medicine at CHLA offers state-of-the-art molecular genetic and next-generation sequencing-based testing for pediatric constitutional and cancer cases. CHLA has been utilizing BioDiscovery’s NxClinical software for analysis and interpretation of microarray and NGS results via tests offered through the Department of Personalized Medicine. NxClinical is a multi-faceted system that can handle Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) as well as microarray data, allowing analysis and interpretation of copy number, AOH, and sequence variants in a single software system.

“The field of genetics and genomics is rapidly evolving and we are grateful for having leading-edge software such as NxClinical helping us keep pace with this changing landscape and improving our efficiency and workflow,” said Dr. Jacqueline Biegel, Director, Center for Personalized Medicine, CHLA. “We have worked together with BioDiscovery on hosting the Southern California Regional Molecular and Cytogenetics meeting and are pleased to extend our collaboration as well as lend our expertise in this field by sharing our experiences and best practices as part of the BioDiscovery Center of Excellence.”

The NxClinical system pulls together data from multiple modalities providing a comprehensive and integrated review process quickly identifying compound events that would not be easily detected when using different software tools for each modality. The visualization of calls and underlying probes play a critical role in the interpretation of events and NxClinical provides a highly visual and interactive review experience. Numerous tools allow for rapid and efficient filtering of variants with automated pre-classification excluding common and benign events allowing a reviewer to focus on potentially pathogenic events.

“As experts in the use of NxClinical software and at the forefront of the latest genomic testing avenues, CHLA is at the perfect junction to provide training and guidance on the use of NxClinical software as well as general knowledge in the genetic testing field for those establishing themselves in this arena,” said Dr. Soheil Shams, CEO, BioDiscovery, Inc.

BioDiscovery’s NxClinical software increases accuracy and efficiency in molecular genetics and cytogenomics labs’ workflows. A unique feature is the integrated review of CNV, AOH, and Seq Var allowing for rapid results with increased diagnostic utility. NxClinical’s platform-independence allows labs to use the same software for analysis and interpretation of data from any technology (e.g. aCGH arrays, SNP arrays, and NGS) allowing much greater flexibility and ease in adopting the best technology for a lab without having to invest additional time and money in installation, training, and validation with a new system. The system includes best-in-class algorithms for copy number estimation and numerous filters to quickly narrow down the list of variants to those that are relevant. The automated workflows can be customized to mirror a lab’s decision-making process and classification terms to pre-classify events, removing repetitive tasks and minimizing potential human error. The system allows enforcement of lab SOPs with assigned user roles and privileges for appropriate user access, extensive audit trail capabilities, and flexible deployment with on-premises or cloud-based options.

Please note the following:
The BioDiscovery software tools referenced are designed to assist clinicians and are not intended as primary diagnostic tools. It is each lab’s responsibility to use the software in accordance with internal policies as well as in compliance with applicable regulations.