PacBio, Invitae to Develop Ultra-High-Throughput Whole Genome Sequencing Platform

  Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Nasdaq: PACB), a leading provider of high-quality, long-read sequencing platforms, today announced a multi-year collaboration with Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, to begin development of a production-scale high-throughput sequencing platform leveraging the power of PacBio’s highly accurate HiFi sequencing to expand Invitae’s whole genome testing capabilities.

“Whole genome sequencing has the ability to significantly improve diagnosis for a wide range of diseases and guide healthcare throughout life. This collaboration is aimed at developing the technology to make it affordable and accessible to all patients who can benefit from in-depth, full genome information," said Sean George, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Invitae. “Our work with PacBio to date has demonstrated the increased diagnostic yield and clinical utility of using information from high-quality, long-read genomes to guide patient care. We believe this world-class sequencing technology combined with our clinical capabilities will uniquely position us to deliver those benefits cost effectively at scale. We look forward to working with the PacBio team to develop a new generation of innovative whole genome-based offerings.”

Identifying the many underlying genetic influences on human health is becoming increasingly critical to overall clinical care and prognosis and whole genome sequencing offers the most comprehensive view of medically relevant variations. As whole genome sequencing continues to grow into a preferred method for genetic testing, it is expected by the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health that by 2025 as many as sixty million genomes will be sequenced. With the development of a new sequencing platform, Invitae and PacBio aim to enable a new class of cost-effective assays that could be used to accelerate the accessibility of a more comprehensive whole genome sequencing approach in areas including carrier screening, immune system response, and other heritable diseases.

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/pacific-biosciences-and-invitae-to-develop-ultra-high-throughput-clinical-whole-genome-sequencing-platform-/