Mayo Clinic and Oxford Nanopore announce collaboration to advance precision medicine for cancer and genetic disorders

Joint development collaboration to bring leading-edge nanopore sequencing into clinical laboratories at Mayo Clinic to increase understanding and improve treatment of cancer and genetic disorders

Mayo Clinic and Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the company delivering a new generation of nanopore-based molecular sensing technology, today unveiled a multi-year joint development collaboration to develop new clinical tests for diseases and improve patient care.

Mayo Clinic and Oxford Nanopore have identified several areas of development, spanning a wide breadth of applications from translational research in human genetics to detection of genetic predisposition to cancer.

“We are proud to work with Mayo Clinic to support the development of new tests that will assist clinical decision-making and improve patient lives. This collaboration shows that Oxford Nanopore’s technology is ready to support development and validation of assays for clinical care, and it underscores our maturity and long-term vision to transform this space. We have long held the ambition to become a utility player in world-renowned, global clinical centers of excellence, and this is our first step toward achieving that vision,” says Gordon Sanghera, CEO, Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

Nanopore sequencing is well positioned to serve Mayo Clinic’s goals of improving testing in some of the hardest-to-characterise conditions. The ability to sequence any-length fragments of DNA — from short to long and ultra-long — and examine methylation in real time offers the potential to provide clinicians with a more complete picture of an evolving cancer genome quickly and accurately. Methylation is particularly important, as this typically requires bisulfite conversions and additional cost yet is key to unmasking crucial insights.

“Pairing Oxford Nanopore’s innovative nanopore sequencing with Mayo Clinic’s world-class clinical and diagnostic testing knowledge further helps advance patient care,” says Bobbi Pritt, M.D., interim chair of Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. “We are excited to collaborate with Oxford Nanopore on this effort to develop new clinical tests that will provide the right answers for patients at the right time.”

The collaboration activities will take place on Mayo Clinic’s campus in Rochester, Minnesota.