Oxford Nanopore Technologies and BugSeq announce collaboration to provide fully automated analysis solutions for rapid pathogen identification and antimicrobial resistance

Combination of leading nanopore sequencing technology with cloud-based SAAS analysis platform will help microbiologists gain critical infectious disease insights from genomic data

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford Nanopore) the company behind a new generation of molecular sensing technology based on nanopores, and BugSeq, a leading provider of fully automated infectious disease bioinformatics services, today announced a collaboration aimed at delivering rapid and accurate analysis solutions for microbiology labs. This collaboration seeks to enable labs to gain critical insights from their genomic data, including pathogen identification, outbreak investigation, and antimicrobial resistance profiling.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will provide a seamless end-to-end solution for pathogen analysis combining nanopore sequencing with BugSeq’s cloud accelerated “software-as-a-service” analysis platform. By leveraging the unique capabilities of both platforms, microbiology labs will be able to accelerate sample-to-answer workflows, enabling prompt and effective responses to pathogens and emerging threats.

"We are excited to partner with BugSeq to bring forth innovative, user-friendly solutions that address the evolving needs of microbiology labs,” said Gordon Sanghera, CEO, Oxford Nanopore Technologies. “Together, we aim to empower labs with the tools and capabilities needed to accelerate the identification of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, ultimately enhancing public health outcomes."

Oxford Nanopore's platform, which is capable of rapidly sequencing long DNA fragments, will be complemented by BugSeq's suite of user-friendly solutions, leading accuracy analysis and curated databases. Integrating these technologies enables recovery of complete microbial genomes and plasmids, antimicrobial resistance prediction, and metagenomic analyses capable of detecting any pathogens within a sample.

​​​"This collaboration builds off BugSeq's industry-leading bioinformatic platform and expertise to enable advanced detection and characterisation of infectious diseases,” said Sam Chorlton, CEO of BugSeq. "By combining our strengths with Oxford Nanopore's cutting-edge sequencing technology, we are poised to redefine the standards of microbiology sequencing analysis."

For more information, please watch the on-demand webinar: Real-time infectious disease outbreak investigations with nanopore sequencing and BugSeq analysis