Swift Biosciences and genomic literature search engine company Genomenon announced a new partnership to co-market targeted gene sequencing panels for custom NGS assays as a follow-up to whole genome or exome sequencing studies. The new service provides research organizations with the ability to identify and elucidate mechanisms underlying genetic disease through a targeted sequencing approach, without the need for deep expertise in target curation and prior NGS panel development experience.
“Identifying biomarkers and designing targeted gene sequencing panels has traditionally been a time-consuming process” said Mike Klein, CEO of Genomenon. “Researchers can significantly shorten their experiment cycle times by working with Genomenon and Swift to select and design their targeted sequencing panels.”
Genomenon’s Mastermind is a genomic search engine that leverages machine learning for full-text indexing of millions of genetics articles. It provides researches with a prioritized list of potential biomarkers by correlating genes and genetic variants with the quality and frequency of literature citations.
Under the collaboration, Genomenon will use Mastermind to develop a list of biomarkers customized to specific research needs, then deliver this information to Swift for panel development. Swift then builds and validates Accel-Amplicon Custom NGS Panels to deeply sequence targeted gene regions. Swift’s technology combines a two-hour, single-tube workflow with highly multiplexed, targeted PCR libraries that are compatible with both Illumina and Ion Torrent™ sequencing platforms. The unique assay format is also compatible with most sample types, including limited or degraded samples such as FFPE and cfDNA samples.
“With next generation sequencing becoming more widely adopted, we had to rethink how we enable Amplicon panel design and make it more accessible to the broader translational community,” said Candia L. Brown, Swift’s vice president of marketing. “We’re excited to partner with Genomenon to remove major bottlenecks and accelerate targeted panels for precision medicine efforts.”
