CLC bio releases Next Generation Sequencing data analysis solution

Today, CLC bio released their new Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) solution, CLC Genomics Workbench, which incorporates cutting-edge technology and algorithms, while also supporting and integrating with the rest of a typical NGS workflow.

CLC Genomics Workbench is the first comprehensive analysis package which can analyze and visualize data from all the major NGS platforms, such as SOLiD by Applied Biosystems, 454 GS flx by Roche Applied Science, Solexa by Illumina, and HeliScope by Helicos.

Director of Scientific Solutions at CLC bio, Dr. Roald Forsberg, PhD, states, “We set out to overcome two major challenges when analyzing Next Generation Sequencing data. One was to eliminate the analysis bottleneck by being able to analyze NGS data faster than it is produced. We overcame that by implementing an accelerated assembly algorithm in CLC Genomics Workbench which preliminary benchmark tests confirm is a very fast assembly algorithm. Secondly, we wanted to deliver user-friendly software which makes powerful NGS analysis software available to all biomedical researchers.”
In benchmark tests, CLC bio has assembled half a million 454 reads against the full E.coli reference genome in around 2 minutes on a dual-core computer with 1 gigabyte RAM. This speed-up, based on integrated SIMD high-performance computing technology, increases even more when using a computer with more CPU-cores and RAM. CLC bio expects to release a benchmark white paper in the near future.

CLC Genomics Workbench 1.0 takes full advantage of “paired end” data, and supports a number of features and work-tasks, such as reference assembly of genomes, de novo assembly of genomes, SNP detection using advanced models, multiplexing, and high-throughput trimming.

Having completed the first version of CLC Genomics Workbench, CLC bio is already pursuing an ambitious development roadmap, which will enhance future softwares with features such as Digital Gene Expression, metagenomics, clustering and assembly of EST and cDNA sequences, large amounts of genomics and transcriptomics downstream analyses, and workflow support.