Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched an Axiom Pangenomix Array, its largest and most ethnically diverse to date.
The product aims to offer optimal genetic coverage for population scale disease studies and pharmacogenomic research.
Current large scale genomic datasets, used for downstream meta-analysis to build and understand disease risk prediction models, are predominantly based on European and Caucasian cohorts. With an increasingly diverse and blended global community, there was an urgent need for ethnically diverse data sets to drive genetic insights in other populations, such as African, Asian and increasing mixed populations. Furthermore, the healthcare industry is increasingly moving toward a proactive care model, highlighting the importance of conducting research on the role of genetics in disease risk and drug response.
The Pangenomix Array is currently the only research solution that combines four assays in one test: SNP genotyping, whole genome copy number variant detection, fixed copy number discovery, blood and HLA typing. The high-throughput array is designed to advance disease risk and detection research, population-scale disease research programs, ancestry and wellness testing, drug efficacy testing, and drug development research.
Inclusive of clinically relevant pharmacogenomic markers and pathogenic variants, the PangenomiX Array offers researchers enhanced whole-genome imputation and a high level of diversity for testing different ethnicities to keep pace with the growing understanding of the genome. The array has already been used to analyse nearly half a million ethnically diverse samples at one of the major US-based biobanks to advance more inclusive research studies related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
“With more diverse genomic data sets, population-scale testing for diseases is reaching even greater heights with long-term ramifications for our understanding of human disease, drug development, pharmacogenomics and ancestry,” said Kim Caple, president, genetic sciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “The research projects underway today will usher in a new standard of care for the future, with healthcare providers routinely using patients’ genetic information to predict disease risk and improve treatment decision-making. With its depth and breadth of coverage, the Pangenomix Array offers a cost-effective, accurate and reproducible solution that builds on our dedicated microarray research and testing with the goal of powering research to help people live longer, healthier lives.”
