Canopy Biosciences LLC, St Louis, a provider of gene editing and gene expression products and services, has announced the launch of RareSeq, an error-corrected sequencing service that increases the sensitivity of genetic testing over traditional methods.
Licensed exclusively from Washington University and developed by Todd Druley, MD, PhD, and Andrew Young, MD, PhD, the RareSeq technology removes errors generated during traditional next-generation sequencing (NGS) to unveil rare mutations previously indistinguishable from background noise.
With the RareSeq service, researchers send samples to Canopy, which then prepares them using a proprietary protocol that includes unique molecule indices/identifiers. Canopy sequences the samples and uses a novel bioinformatics tool to computationally identify and remove errors, unveiling unprecedented sequencing sensitivity. A comprehensive data report highlighting detected single-nucleotide variants is provided.
“RareSeq offers researchers the ability to examine DNA mutations as rare as 1 in 10,000, which is a sensitivity that’s 100x greater than traditional sequencing,” says Crystal Winkeler, cofounder and chief operating officer at Canopy. “This increased sensitivity is vital, as it’s becoming increasingly appreciated that mutations below the standard ~1% threshold are biologically and clinically relevant.”
Launching the service with a panel of genetic variants important in myeloid diseases, Canopy is offering researchers targeting blood cancers a tool to study disease development, progression, and recurrence. The panel targets 54 genes known to be mutated in myeloid malignancies, and is the first in a series of panels and services slated to launch throughout the year, aiming to make RareSeq an important part of NGS workflows.
Edward Weinstein, CEO, Canopy.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this technology,” says Edward Weinstein, PhD, CEO of Canopy. “It not only redefines the limits of detection for current sequencing technologies, which is critical in the clinical space, but it will give researchers an incredibly powerful tool to interrogate genomes for disease-causing markers. Providing it as a service makes it accessible for everyone.”
For further information, visit Canopy Biosciences.