Agilent Technologies Shares Vision for Precision Genomics at ASHG 2015

Agilent Technologies Inc. is sharing its vision for precision medicine this week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genomics. The conference, held in Baltimore, Maryland, is a forum for discussing recent advances in all areas of human genetics.

“As new technologies and greater understanding of the causes and pathways of diseases are moving through the research-clinical continuum, they are driving a revolution in precision medicine—a revolution that is enabling physicians to identify and treat maladies earlier, more effectively and at a lower cost,” said Herman Verrelst, Agilent vice president and general manager, Genomics Solutions Division and Clinical Applications Division.

“Precision medicine requires precision genomics,” he said. “Agilent is focusing its efforts on developing solutions for human and reproductive genetics and cancer genetics. Our latest products, which we are showcasing at ASHG, demonstrate how Agilent is enabling clinical researchers to detect disease-associated genetic changes faster, more cost-effectively and with confidence.”

A speaker at the conference, Verrelst noted that Agilent has initiatives in place to develop products for single-cell and liquid-biopsy analyses and is currently collaborating with key laboratories. These initiatives, he said, will be important in screening for and tracking genetic changes in reproductive and cancer samples.

In addition, he said, Agilent’s recent acquisition of Cartagenia enhances its bioinformatics portfolio and provides customers with access to clinical-grade data-interpretation support software to visualize, assess and report clinical genetics data in the context of patient information.

Building on a strong legacy and expertise within bioreagents, automation and informatics, Agilent this week is showcasing a number of innovative products to support clinical research:

• GenetiSure Pre-Screen kit for analysis of single cells in embryos.
• OneSeq target enrichment for genome-wide detection of copy number variations, loss of heterozygosity and mutations—all in a single assay.
• HaloPlexHS target enrichment for detecting rare variants (<1% allele frequency) using molecular barcodes.
• SureSelect Human All Exon V6 for targeting exons in even hard-to-capture regions.
• The AriaMx Real-Time PCR system for amplifying, detecting and analyzing polymerase chain reactions.

Agilent also is showcasing its Cartagenia Bench Lab NGS product that provides interpretation support to identify and report on clinically relevant variants in next-generation sequencing.