Oxford Nanopore to collaborate with Rockefeller Foundation’s new Pandemic Prevention Institute for distributed genomic surveillance

The Rockefeller Foundation has announced over $20 million in funding to help strengthen global capabilities to detect and respond to pandemic threats by strengthening organisations’ ability to sequence and share genomic information alongside other data, rapidly.

Oxford Nanopore is one of 20 organisations collaborating with the Rockefeller Foundation to shape their new Pandemic Prevention Institute and expand global genomic sequencing capacity.

Dr. Rick Bright, Senior Vice President of Pandemic Preparedness at The Rockefeller Foundation said:

“Rapidly sharing genomic sequencing information from all corners of the globe enables us to see and understand how the virus is changing and adapt our tools accordingly. Without this information we risk the pandemic continuing to wreak havoc on our lives.”

Nanopore technology has been used in over 100 countries over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic for rapid, distributed sequencing in both local and national public health systems, contributing to timely data sharing through global repositories.

From the portable MinION to the high-throughput PromethION, nanopore sequencing can be scaled to meet the demands of the situation and therefore has a vital role to play on the ground in future outbreak situations.

Gordon Sanghera, CEO, Oxford Nanopore Technologies said:

“Rapid sharing of genomic data is vital in the response to an outbreak, as COVID-19 has so clearly demonstrated. We’re delighted to be working with the Rockefeller Foundation and collaborators to help build sequencing capacity globally, and bring solutions to the parts of the globe where they are needed most.”

Read the full announcement here.

Find out more about nanopore technology for outbreak surveillance here.