Geniom Technology applied to Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing

febit biotech gmbh has successfully achieved a first milestone in a product development project whose outcome should remove one of the major bottlenecks of next-generation sequencing platforms. By enabling selective targeting, the Geniom^® Biochip will allow researchers to sequence individual and well defined parts of genomes. Many scientists believe that such targeted sequencing – especially in the medical and diagnostic context - will be a significant application in genomics.

The project is carried out in conjunction with the Illumina/Solexa platform as representative of Next-Generation DNA sequencing instruments. The application might as well serve users of other systems such as the 454 sequencer instrument and the ABI/Agencourt system. febit’s work is a continuation of earlier research addressing innovative uses of its Geniom microfluidic microarray technology.

febit CSO Peer Stähler: “We strongly believe that the products and services resulting from this project will open important and innovative analytical windows on the Genome. The resulting applications could change the way DNA sequence information is used in research and medical diagnostics. We are working with several partners in this field and expect first products to be available in 2008.”