Clinical OMICs - Issue 3 - (Page 19)

Research Needs data that are tailored to their particular needs rather than generating a set amount of data for each run. This flexibility should fit well with the clinical workflow. Clinical Needs Higher outputs East of use Lower cost per Gb Stability Rapid improvements Quicker turnaround time Research vs. the clinic: What to look for in a sequencer The Road Ahead be based on their verifi® prenatal test) along with a universal kit. Not to be outdone, Life Technologies (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific) has announced that it will be submitting its Ion Torrent PGM platform for FDA clearance in the fall of 2014. This platform has already proved popular with clinical researchers due to its speed-a rapid turnaround time can be critical when dealing with patient samples. One area that the Ion Torrent platforms have lagged is that of ease of use due to their reliance on emulsion PCR, a tricky and time-consuming process. In an effort to address this issue, Life Technologies has launched the IonChef, an automated system that handles both emulsion PCR and chip loading. Because NGS for the research market is dominated by Illumina, and also by Thermo Fisher Scientific to a smaller extent, developers of new platforms are focusing primarily on clinical sequencing, hoping to get a toe-hold in what is projected to be a large and fast-growing market. Qiagen has plans to launch its new system, the GeneReader, later this year. While it uses a sequencing chemistry similar to that of Illumina, it will cater to the clinical user by using a larger number of small output flow cells, reducing or even elim- Clinical next-generation sequencing is making rapid strides, but there is still a long way to go before it becomes routinely used with patients. Currently there is only a single FDAcleared clinical NGS platform on the market, and it will take at least a couple of years before it faces serious competition. Also, turning the raw output of the sequencers into a report that clinicians and physicians can use to make decisions on how to treat their patients remains a challenge. Finally, NGS is progressing technologically at a pace that the regulatory and ethical bodies are finding difficult to match. So while the $1,000 genome is finally here, widespread adoption in the clinic is still in the future. www.clinicalomics.com inating the need to pool samples, which could lead to a quicker turnaround time and less cross-contamination risk. Also, the GeneReader will be integrated into a comprehensive workflow from Qiagen, covering sample prep all the way through data analysis. Bio-Rad Laboratories recently entered the NGS market through its acquisition of GnuBIO. The GnuBIO targeted sequencing platform, which is currently in beta testing, uses picoinjector technology to form droplets in which individual sequencing-byhybridization reactions take place. In addition to reducing reagent volumes (which keeps the price down), the microfluidic droplet system allows the user to generate arbitrary amounts of Discover what's new from the leading journal on post-genomic medicine and integrative biology Sign Up for TOC Alerts www.liebertpub.com/omi Editor-in-Chief: Vural Özdemir, MD, PhD, DABCP May 15, 2014 Clinical OMICs 19 http://www.liebertpub.com/omi http://www.liebertpub.com/omi http://www.clinicalomics.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clinical OMICs - Issue 3

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Clinical OMICs - Issue 3