Illumina Inc, San Diego, has acquired Edico Genome, a provider of data analysis acceleration solutions for next-generation sequencing (NGS), also based in San Diego.
Edico Genome’s Dragen bioinformatics platform uses field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology in conjunction with proprietary software algorithms to reduce both data footprint and time to results. The platform is currently intended for research use only, and is not cleared for use in diagnostic procedures.
The Dragen platform can be run on-premise, in the Cloud, or in a hybrid mode, and is flexible and compatible with multiple Cloud storage solutions and analysis pipelines. Edico Genome has built a strong base of NGS customers that have incorporated the company’s platform as a standard part of their sequencing workflow.
“Our acquisition of Edico Genome is a big step toward realizing the vision of reducing sequencing data acquisition and analysis to a push-button, standardized process,” says Susan Tousi, senior vice president for product development at Illumina. “We expect to build on the solid foundation of Dragen to deliver a more streamlined and integrated sample-to-answer experience for our customers.”
The Dragen platform complements Illumina’s sequencing portfolio and enables customers to benefit from reduced investment in computing infrastructure and accelerated result times, to improve their overall efficiency, and to allow greater emphasis on interpretation and reporting.
“The scientific community should align around standards to maximize the impact of genomics in health,” says Anthony Philippakis, MD, PhD, chief data officer at the Broad Institute. “We are excited to collaborate with Illumina on approaches and pipelines for the analysis of NGS data. The genome analysis toolkit has been adopted by a diverse set of researchers, and we look forward to integrating these methods with Illumina sequencers to improve the overall efficiency of data analysis—enabling the community to more easily share and collaborate.”
“Thanks to Illumina, the ability to generate accurate and affordable sequencing data is rapidly expanding the market and use cases for NGS. As the scale of sequencing expands, decreasing the cost and time of analysis will be important to fuel the clinical adoption of sequencing,” says Pieter van Rooyen, PhD, president and chief executive officer at Edico Genome. “Our team is invigorated at the prospect of joining Illumina to combine our respective strengths to streamline and accelerate secondary analysis for the genomics community.”
Stephen F. Kingsmore, MD, DSc, Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine
“We have had tremendous success at Rady’s for years using Edico’s Dragen coupled with Illumina sequencers to accelerate the delivery of genomic insights for critically ill newborns,” says Stephen F. Kingsmore, MD, DSc, president and chief executive of Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine. “Our goal is to ensure that whole-genome sequencing is available to every child who needs it. To do this, we need a rapid workflow that can scale and ultimately be accessible to hospitals around the world.”
For more information, visit Illumina.
