Almac launches Next Generation Sequencing service for personalised medicine

Published: 21-Aug-2012

Specifically focuses on targeted re-sequencing


Almac Group is introducing a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) service to expand its solutions supporting the development of personalised medicine.

The firm says the service aims to support its BioPharma partners in the development of molecular tests for trial enrichment and companion diagnostic development, specifically focusing on targeted re-sequencing.

The Craigavon, Northern Ireland-headquartered firm currently offers microarray, qPCR and IHC solutions and says the addition of the NGS platform complements these.

Almac previously launched a service focusing on the analysis of NGS data and has now decided to develop this service to include data generation and to allow the delivery of NGS-based assays in its Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) lab.

Professor Paul Harkin, president and md of Almac’s Diagnostics business unit and Professor of Molecular Oncology at Queen’s University Belfast said: ‘There are only a limited number of platforms that are truly amenable to diagnostic delivery. The NGS field has now moved to a point where it is a viable delivery platform and as such is a logical addition to our suite of services. We have already begun the process of developing CLIA based assays for important mutations involved in drug response.’

Almac already performs NGS for Omixon, a bioinformatics company focused on the development of validated data analysis solutions to scientists working in genomics with special emphasis on clinical and diagnostic applications.

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