Illumina Appoints New CCO, Launches New Software Version, PacBio Launches Free HiFi Long-Read Variant Frequency Database, More

By Bio-IT World Team  

June 26, 2024 |Illumina has appointed Everett Cunningham as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and has also announced the launch of DRAGEN v4.3, the latest version of its DRAGEN software; PacBio, in collaboration with the international Consortium for Long-Read Sequencing (CoLoRS), announced the launch of the first publicly available and free HiFi long-read variant frequency database with global representation; more. 

Illumina has appointed Everett Cunningham as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Cunningham will be responsible for building, guiding, and managing the company's global commercial organization. He brings extensive commercial experience across the healthcare tech, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries. Most recently, Cunningham served as Chief Commercial Officer at Exact Sciences, where he oversaw the company's marketing, sales, and customer service functions. Prior to Exact Sciences, he held various senior leadership roles at Quest Diagnostics, GE Healthcare, and Pfizer, where he spent 21 years as a commercial leader. Press release. 

Illumina has also announced the launch of DRAGEN v4.3, the latest version of its DRAGEN software, part of the Illumina Connected Software portfolio, for analysis of next-generation sequencing data. DRAGEN's innovation in multigenome mapping complements the efforts led by the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC). The HPRC, funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute, aims to equip the genomics community with high-quality assemblies from diverse ancestries and combine them into a reference human pangenome. Some features include: next-generation multigenome with 128 samples, machine learning mosaic mode, a new family of specialized callers, AI-powered annotations, and more. Press release. 

PacBio, in collaboration with the international Consortium for Long-Read Sequencing (CoLoRS), announced the launch of the first publicly available and free HiFi long-read variant frequency database with global representation. This innovative resource fills a critical void for rare disease researchers, providing access to genetic variants that are not detectable through short-read sequencing methods. By enabling the filtering of common structural variants from long-read sequencing data, this database allows for the identification of rare and novel variants in rare disease cases. The launch of this database better enables researchers to utilize long-read genomic data to advance human health research. Press release. 

PathAI unveiled two novel AI products, PathExplore Immuno-Oncology Profiling (IOP) and IHC Explore1, to empower cancer drug developers and clinical researchers with AI-powered insights. The product pairing provides unprecedented single-cell and spatial resolution of the tumor microenvironment from routine pathology samples to facilitate biomarker discovery and deeper understanding of treatment response for the next generation of cancer therapeutics. PathExplore IOP expedites characterization of immune phenotypes by quantifying tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and their spatial distribution using routine hematoxylin and eosin samples. PathExplore IOP was designed specifically to quantify patterns of immune infiltration characteristic of a strong immune response, and ultimately improved patient survival. Press release. 

Parse Biosciences announced an agreement with Bogotá, Colombia-based Gencell Pharma to extend Parse’s reach in Colombia specifically and also across South America. The company’s agreement with Gencell Pharma will give South American researchers full access to Parse’s single cell portfolio, including Evercode Whole Transcriptome, Evercode TCR, Evercode BCR, Evercode Cell Fixation, Evercode Nuclei Fixation, Gene Capture, CRISPR Detect, and the Parse Biosciences data analysis solution, Trailmaker. The agreement is a continuation of Parse’s ongoing introduction of its products in key international markets, which are also currently available in North America, Europe, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, India, Israel, and New Zealand. Press release.

Sapio Sciences announced Sapio Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) LIMS for laboratories that require unparalleled flexibility to meet manufacturing compliance standards. The new Sapio GMP LIMS solution addresses industry applications in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, clinical research and diagnostics, food and beverage, chemical, and environmental testing. The three key elements include: Sapio QC LIMS, which streamlines material and product management with configurable dashboards, drug product registration, and batch creation; Sapio Environmental Monitoring Programs, which enhances site, equipment, and storage management by tracking and organizing manufacturing sites, equipment details, and hierarchical storage units; and Sapio Stability Management, which streamlines the setup and execution of stability studies. Press release.

Quantabio launched the eQo 1-Step ToughMix kit, the first product from its third-generation line of advanced reagents for highly sensitive and reproducible PCR and qPCR applications. The new eQo (pronounced “eco”) product line comes in a lyophilized, bead-based, and eco-friendly format that is conveniently shipped, stored and set up at ambient temperature. This eliminates the need for dry ice, significantly reducing the shipping footprint and its harmful impact on the environment. The eQo 1-Step ToughMix kit was designed to improve the user experience with a simple workflow that accelerates project turnaround times. Press release.

Dovetail Genomics announced a new strategic partnership with Australian Genome Research Facility (AGRF). This collaboration is aimed at bolstering genomic research and innovation across Australia and New Zealand, launching AGRF as the premier provider of Dovetail’s cutting-edge products and services in the Australasian market. Under this partnership, AGRF will offer Dovetail’s comprehensive 3D genomic portfolio of proximity ligation-based products, including Dovetail Omni-C, Micro-C, and the new family of LinkPrep Technology based products, TopoLink, AssemblyLink, and VariLink Kits. This alliance not only redefines the accessibility and application of advanced genomics across various sectors, including biomedical, agri-genomics, and clinical research, but it also significantly enhances and expands AGRF's service offerings. Press release. 

Salesforce announced the general availability of Life Sciences Cloud, a platform for pharmaceutical and medical technology organizations to help personalize patient and healthcare professional (HCP) engagement and streamline clinical operations with data, automation, and trusted AI. Some features include: participant recruitment and enrollment, patient benefits verification, patient program outcome management, and more. Press release. 

Thanks to the computing power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Intel, the CCDC announced a curated dataset of protein structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) with predicted hydrogen positions is now available for download. This project was supported by an Intel RISE Technology Initiative contribution. The CCDC generated a comprehensive snapshot of protein cavities in the PDB, identifying potential binding sites for small molecules with accurately predicted hydrogen positions for all components. Some benefits include accessibility, efficiency, and environmental impact. Press release. 

Epigenica unveiled its EpiFinder Platform with a patented high-throughput, multiplexing, quantitative ChIP-seq (hmqChIP-seq) technology and launched EpiFinder Genome for comprehensive genome-wide profiling. EpiFinder Genome, the company's flagship product and the first commercial kit of its kind, simultaneously targets up to eight markers in up to 24 samples or independent replicates, generating quantitative data for in-depth insights into biomedical research, drug discovery and development, diagnostics, and precision medicine. Some features and benefits include high-quality data, easy to use pooled workflow, validated with cells and tissue, and more. Press release. 

Jumpcode Genomics and Takara Bio USA announced the companies have settled their patent dispute and have partnered to bring together their combined foundational IP in the field of targeted depletion of undesired transcripts such as ribosomal RNAs from NGS libraries using CRISPR-based technology. The companies’ cutting-edge technologies, sold under the DepleteX and CRISPRclean brands by Jumpcode and as ZapR technology by Takara Bio USA, remove unwanted sequences from biological samples to enable the discovery and detection of novel molecules. This enables researchers to significantly improve the sensitivity of their RNA-seq libraries and provides significant cost savings by reducing the need to sequence unwanted abundant sequences. Press release. 

Leica Microsystems has released version 14 of Aivia, its flagship image analysis solution. This update introduces a suite of new features and enhancements for accurate deep-learning based cell segmentation, automated phenotyping, and spatial data analysis in 3D multiplexed images. Researchers and scientists can visualize up to 15 channels in 3D multiplexed images simultaneously, providing a comprehensive view of complex biological processes. Aivia’s improved deep learning model accelerates cell detection by up to 78%, resulting in faster and more accurate detection and partition of cells. Press release. 

SEQSTER announced a strategic partnership with Thread to accelerate access to real-world data for patients, researchers, and life science enterprises. This partnership integrates primary data captured through Thread’s platform with instant access to secondary data from SEQSTER to expand the volume of participant data captured in a clinical research study. More combined data means an improved ability to determine the impact of new medicines, ultimately accelerating drug development. The partnership will also leverage Thread’s proprietary patient listening technology, ensuring that research studies with real-world data collection are designed with direct feedback from patients. Press release. 

Thermo Fisher Scientific unveiled the Thermo Scientific Stellar mass spectrometer (MS), a new solution that combines fast throughput, high sensitivity, and ease of use to allow researchers to advance their translational omics research and make breakthrough discoveries more efficiently. The Stellar MS powers translational research, the conversion of basic science discoveries into clinical applications with the goal of improving human health, as it streamlines the verification of proteins and metabolites of clinical interest. It also complements the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Astral MS. The Orbitrap Astral MS discovers new biomarkers and the Stellar MS connects these discoveries to clinical research, providing verification of all biomarkers that matter, including peptides, metabolites, and lipids. Press release. 

Genialis announced a new partnership with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) to expand the validation of the Genialis krasID biomarker in the pancreatic cancer histology. Genialis krasID is a new artificial intelligence classifier that accurately predicts response and clinical benefit to KRAS inhibitors across preclinical, clinical, and real-world settings. Press release. 

Sinequa announced the availability of Sinequa Assistants, new enterprise-grade generative AI assistants that seamlessly integrate with all enterprise content and applications to augment and transform knowledge work. Sinequa’s new generative AI Assistants will allow employees to work more efficiently, effectively, and creatively. Some domain-specific Assistants available include: the Augmented Scientist, which allows research teams to converse with scientific content from an ever-increasing number of data sources to speed up clinical trials, drug development, and streamline R&D processes; the Augmented Engineer, which empowers design teams with a unified view of projects, products, and parts and the ability to construct and search across a digital thread; the Augmented Lawyer, which provides lawyers and paralegals powerful self-service research capabilities across all case files and information through a time-saving AI search; and the Augmented Asset Manager, which helps financial asset managers and advisors to leverage valuable insight from contracts, portfolio history and documents. Press release. 

Complete Genomics opened its Customer Experience Center demonstration lab near Boston’s biotech hub.  The new lab, located in Framingham near Boston, is Complete Genomics’ first footprint on the East Coast and is expected to enable faster service and support to East Coast customers. Current and prospective customers in Boston and the greater northeast will be able to experience Complete Genomics’ DNBSEQ workflows including next-generation sequencing platforms, sample prep automation systems, and bioinformatics products. Press release.