Roche has picked up exclusive rights to AbVitro's primer extension-based target enrichment (PETE) technology and associated patent applications AbVitro has filed. The technology, Roche says, will be used to support next-generation sequencing (NGS) directly from blood or other biological samples—something that could be a boon for clinicians.
Roche plans to incorporate PETE technology into its Sequencing Unit R&D pipeline to support the strategy of providing a full NGS workflow solution for clinical sequencing. Per the agreement, scientists from both firms will be teaming up to develop the technology.
“Sequencing is transforming the understanding among researchers and clinicians of how genomics will impact health,” Dan Zabrowski, head of Roche Tissue Diagnostics and the Sequencing Unit, said in a statement. “We look forward to advancing this technology in order to streamline sequencing methods for easy-to-use clinical applications.”
Therapeutic target discovery company AbVitro has a technology platform that the firm says can leverage natural immune responses to address diseases with unmet medical needs. This platform was based on technology developed by George Church, Ph.D., at Harvard Medical School.
“It is wonderful to see another potentially transformative sequencing technology transition into Roche where it can impact our daily lives,” Dr. Church commented.
