The aim to leverage in-house sequencing for infectious disease analysis.
Biotechnology company Oxford Nanopore Technologies has partnered with molecular diagnostics company Cepheid to develop a scalable, automated, end-to-end solution for simplified nanopore sequencing workflows for use within a laboratory.
“Providing an integrated solution to more effectively characterise infectious diseases, understand the epidemiology of bacterial outbreaks, and profile antimicrobial resistance will meaningfully accelerate our mission of expanding access to critical molecular information,” said Cephid president Vitor Rocha.
The solution combines Cepheid's GeneXpert system for pre-sequencing sample and library preparation with Oxford Nanopore's molecular analysis platform. The aim to leverage in-house sequencing for infectious disease analysis, returning results within hours.
The initial application of the workflow will focus on infectious disease, specifically the profiling of bacterial and fungal pathogens with whole genome sequencing first from culture isolates and eventually directly from positive blood cultures.
"By partnering to integrate our richer data, rapid insights, and accessible and affordable sequencing technology with Cepheid's GeneXpert architecture, we are establishing a workflow foundation that is positioned for future expansion into scaled routine clinical use.,” said Oxford Nanopore Technologies CEO Dr Gordon Sanghera.
Eventually, the partnership could expand into additional infectious disease use cases, as well as other areas such as cancer and human genetics.
