Oxford Nanopore and MATRIX expand collaboration to implement rapid CNS tumour classification across Norway

Oxford, UK, and Oslo, Norway, 15 June 2026 – Oxford Nanopore Technologies and MATRIX, Norway’s national cancer research centre, today announced the expansion of their collaboration to implement Oxford Nanopore sequencing for national central nervous system (CNS) tumour classification.

Following successful clinical evaluation, the programme will now integrate the Oxford Nanopore-based approach into Norway’s National Infrastructure for Precision Diagnostics (InPreD), moving to structured deployment across the public healthcare system and enabling rapid insights to support real-time clinical decisions.

Clinical readiness at national scale

CNS tumours are complex to characterise, with conventional workflows often requiring multiple assays and weeks to return results. Nanopore technology detects methylation directly from native DNA, enabling comprehensive, real-time methylation analysis to support accurate, rapid CNS tumour classification.

Using Oslo University Hospital’s own validated routine tumour classification assay, Phase 1 evaluation of 50 CNS tumour samples showed strong agreement with established diagnostic methods and supports the clinical readiness of Oxford Nanopore sequencing for customer-validated assays.

Phase 2 will initially roll out at Oslo University Hospital, Haukeland University Hospital and St. Olavs Hospital, with future expansion planned. Supported by the Regional Health Authorities and the Norwegian Cancer Society, the programme includes training, LIS integration, logistics, bioinformatics validation and diagnostic pathways to support national adoption.

“The expansion of the MATRIX programme from evaluation to national implementation demonstrates both the clinical readiness and the value of Oxford Nanopore sequencing for precision oncology,” said Tonya McSherry, VP Commercial EMEAI, Oxford Nanopore Technologies. “Norway is showing how rapid, scalable and comprehensive genomic insights can be embedded into routine healthcare, providing a blueprint for others considering national sequencing programmes.”

The collaboration will also expand into somatic and germline variant detection, CNV benchmarking, single-cell transcriptomics and genome-wide methylation, delivering faster and more comprehensive multi-omics insights from one single workflow.

Oslo University Hospital plans to submit the required In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) documentation by the end of this year, alongside any necessary in-house declarations as required for software used within a healthcare institution. Together with validation data and health-economy analyses, this establishes a compliant pathway toward routine clinical use within Norway’s public health system.