GrandOmics becomes the first certified PromethION service provider in China
GrandOmics, a company based in China, has become the first in China and the second in the world to be certified to provide PromethION DNA sequencing services using Nanopore technology.
GrandOmics aims to use the advantages of ultra-long read nanopore sequencing to provide human genome sequencing services, specialise in the detection of structural variations.
Nanopore sequencing can provide extremely long read lengths, making it possible to span genome areas that contain large structural variations and repetitive sequences, allowing simpler analysis and more accurate genome assemblies.
PromethION is a standalone benchtop system designed to enable sub-$1,000 nanopore-only human genomes. It offers the same real-time, long-read, direct DNA and RNA sequencing technology as MinION and GridION, at much larger scale. It is designed to run up to 48 flow cells on-demand. The system allows on-demand sequencing, real-time basecalling and onward analysis.
GrandOmics is the world's largest third-generation sequencing application company. It has recently launched the Personal Reference Genome Project (“PRGP”), which will provide a ‘de novo personal genome’ to customers. The PRGP aims to sequence 10,000 samples in the first 2-3 years and 10 million in the following 3-10 years.
GrandOmics established Oxford Nanopore Sequencing Service Centre in May 2017 and has started to offer nanopore sequencing to customers in China and elsewhere in the world. It currently has 20 GridIONs in operation, and 1 PromethION.
Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore, congratulated GrandOmics on being the first service provider for PromethION in China. “GrandOmics is driving breakthrough projects like the PRGP, and achieving new standards using high throughput, long read, Nanopore sequencing. We are excited to see the pace of development in China and the innovation that GrandOmics is doing.”
Mr. Depeng Wang, CEO of GrandOmics, said: “The PromethION sequencing platform launched by Oxford Nanopore is a milestone of the new technology platform in the history of DNA sequencing. Just like the EUV lithography platform for the semiconductor chip industry, it is a foundational platform in the fields of genomics medicine and medical big data. GrandOmics has developed novel algorithms, software and workflows in areas including difficult genetic disease diagnosis, assisted reproductive detection, cancer genomic research, and rapid detection of microbials. We are now officially providing high-quality nanopore whole genome sequencing services to the world."