WuXi NextCode’s new lab to support next-gen sequencing for clinical trials
The CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited, and GCP compliant genetic analysis lab is based in Woburn, MA, close to WuXi NextCode's US office in Cambridge, MA. The company also has locations in Kendall Square, MA, in addition to Dublin, Reykjavik, and Shanghai.
According to the company, Illumina's new TruSight Oncology 500 (TSO 500) panel will be the first offered in the lab. The pan-cancer tumor profiling assay will help support clinical trial enrollment, retrospective exploratory translational research, and biomarker discovery.
WuXi NextCode Commercial GM and SVP Jamie Morris told us the company’s new lab in Woburn, MA expands the company’s global footprint enabling us to better support both US-based customers as well as global clinical trials.
“With the cost of sequencing on the fall and affordable large-scale storage and analysis on the rise, we are seeing an increased demand globally for many types of sequencing ranging from WGS to RNAseq to various types of panels from early research to clinical trials,” he said.
With a company mission to improve lives through genomics, Morris said the first step is a deeper understanding of the genome. “Our new laboratory will allow us to support the interrogation of genomic and multi-omic data in order to discover new and better therapies for patients around the globe,” he added.
Illumina in October 2018 launched the TSO 500, which uses DNA and RNA from subject tumor samples to identify somatic variants underlying tumor progression.
Initially to be offered at the new lab, WuXi NextCode will roll out the offering to its other facilities in Shanghai and Dublin at a later time.
Garret Hampton, PhD, senior vice president of clinical genomics at Illumina said: "We expect that the use of TruSight Oncology 500 will lead to robust biomarker discovery, while also directly supporting oncology-focused therapeutics and companion diagnostic development."
