Menarini-Silicon Biosystems and Swift Biosciences announced a collaboration to offer customized next-generation sequencing (NGS) for oncology research and diagnostics

Menarini-Silicon Biosystems and Swift Biosciences announced a collaboration to offer customized next-generation sequencing (NGS) for oncology research and diagnostics.

The first two products (marketed by Menarini-Silicon Biosystems) developed for tumor cells from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples allow researchers to obtain high-quality NGS results from 100 to 300 tumor and stromal cells in an optimized workflow downstream of Menarini-Silicon Biosystems' DEPArray™ cell-sorting platform. The DEPArray OncoSeek Panel will allow simultaneous analysis of sequence variants and copy number alterations focused on cancer-associated genes. Its workflow employs a streamlined, single-tube, 2-hour reaction, generating reliable, ready-to-sequence Illumina-compatible libraries. The DEPArray LibPrep Kit will allow researchers to build high-complex NGS libraries starting from a few hundred FFPE cells that contain low amounts of damaged and fragmented DNA. It enables a variety of downstream genetic applications, including either low-pass or deep whole-genome sequencing and whole-exome sequencing that utilizes hybridization capture probes for target enrichment.

Timothy Harkins, Ph.D., president and CEO of Swift Biosciences, said, “Our partnership with Menarini-Silicon Biosystems shows how complementary technologies and know-how can revolutionize oncology research by unlocking the treasure trove of FFPE samples that have been previously unable to be characterized. Together, we are helping cancer researchers perform whole-exome and targeted resequencing of pure cell types, and often just using a few hundred cells.”

This product collaboration comes 1 month after Swift Biosciences announced a technology development partnership with Active Motif (an epigenetics-based research tools company based in Carlsbad, CA) to deliver technical advancements in chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) workflow for epigenetics applications. Said Dr. Harkins about the September announcement, “By working together to combine the best of our respective technologies, we are providing real advancements that the broader community will be able to take as they continue to push how proteins and DNA interact.”

 

 

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