In Last Sprint to Product Launch, Edico Genome Hints at Massively Accelerated Informatics

April 14, 2014 | San Diego-based Edico Genome is working on a chip-based system, the Dragen Wavefront Processor, to perform first-line analysis of genetic information in a fraction of the time required by the fastest current methods. The technology would align sequencing reads and perform variant calling. While today's software platforms for these applications remain the major bottleneck for high-throughput sequencing, the Dragen technology uses custom-built hardware optimized specifically for gene informatics. Few details have so far been disclosed about the technology, but Edico's CEO Pieter van Rooyen has claimed that processing a whole genome on the Dragen system requires as little as twenty minutes. The Dragen Wavefront Processor is scheduled to be officially unveiled later this month at the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo in Boston, April 29 to May 1. U-T San Diego