Enhanced understanding of genetic basis of disease to hasten
advent of personalized medicine
Phoenix, AZ - March 9, 2009 - Applied Biosystems, a division of
Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE), and the Translational
Genomics Research Institute, today announced a strategic alliance
designed to accelerate research into complex diseases and medical
conditions. As part of this alliance, a team of scientists from
TGen and Applied Biosystems will employ the SOLiD™ 3 System,
Applied Biosystems' next-generation genomic analysis platform, to
sequence DNA from thousands of patients with a variety of diseases.
The goal of this research is to translate scientific discoveries at
the genetic level into knowledge about the underlying causes of
disease that may ultimately be used to create cutting-edge tools
for use in clinical diagnosis.
The alliance enables TGen researchers to apply best-of-breed
sequencing technology across a broad spectrum of research efforts
that focus on developing a more personalized approach to medicine.
This approach, which is known as personalized medicine, represents
a potential clinical shift from treatment of disease based on
symptoms, to therapy that is specific to an individual's unique
genetic make up. Among the goals of this project is to advance the
promise of personalized medicine by reducing the cost of genome
sequencing to make it a routine diagnostic tool in medical
care.
"This strategic alliance will accelerate genomic discoveries by
integrating relevant scientific findings into the clinical
setting," said Mark Stevenson, President and Chief Operating
Officer of Life Technologies. "The SOLiD System will help this team
of scientists and other researchers and clinicians interpret how
genetic variation can improve the ability to create more effective
therapeutic solutions, bringing personalized medicine one step
closer to mainstream application."
The scientists involved in this alliance will utilize a total of
five SOLiD 3 Systems to build a sequencing pipeline in connection
with patient-centric, medically-directed resequencing on a cross
section of patient samples. The results are expected to positively
impact individuals with cancer, autoimmune and neurological
disorders. The alliance will also involve the co-development of a
bioinformatics analysis and visualization pipeline for the SOLiD
platform. This will result in software tools designed to ease the
analytical challenges associated with analyzing the vast amounts of
data generated by human disease and cancer genomics applications of
next generation sequencing.
Dr. Jeffrey Trent, President and Scientific Director of TGen, and
other renowned principal investigators will partner with Applied
Biosystems scientists to perform six different projects focused on
comprehensive characterization of genetic and molecular changes
occurring within clinical cohorts for each disease. The scientists
at TGen chose the SOLiD technology for this project, due to its
inherent scalability, unparalleled throughput and unmatched data
accuracy. These attributes make the SOLiD System uniquely suited
for translational research of complex diseases by enabling the
detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms and other structural
variation across the genome in large numbers of samples.
"Consistent with TGen's mission of developing the next generation
of diagnostics and therapeutics, the alliance with Applied
Biosystems forges ties with a key industry partner whose
technologies align seamlessly with our research objectives and
should produce accelerated progress in our efforts to better
understand the genetic underpinnings of many diseases, with a
particular emphasis on cancer," said Dr. Trent.
Applied Biosystems is a global leader in providing innovative
instrument systems to accelerate academic and clinical research,
drug discovery and development, pathogen detection and forensic DNA
analysis. The technologies it markets include a robust line of DNA
sequencing systems and chemistries to meet the increasing demands
of the scientific community for higher throughput, more
sophisticated DNA sequencing solutions. Applied Biosystems,
together, with Invitrogen - a leading provider of platform
independent, essential life science technologies for disease and
drug research, bioproduction and diagnostics - is part of Life
Technologies Corporation, which markets the life science industry's
most comprehensive portfolio of solutions for molecular and cell
biology. Applied Biosystems and Invitrogen products are used in
nearly every major laboratory in the world.
TGen is a growing leader in integrating medically directed
technologies and applications into clinical practice, the results
of which provide real solutions for patients. Through its recent
alliance with the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids,
Michigan, TGen and VARI now have a national outreach to patient
populations across multiple diseases. That alliance combines the
groundbreaking basic research expertise of VARI with the
cutting-edge translational genomics and analysis capabilities of
TGen.
For more information, please visit: www.appliedbiosystems.com,
www.invitrogen.com and www.tgen.org.
About Life Technologies
Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE) is a global
biotechnology tools company dedicated to improving the human
condition. Our systems, consumables and services enable researchers
to accelerate scientific exploration, driving to discoveries and
developments that make life even better. Life Technologies
customers do their work across the biological spectrum, working to
advance personalized medicine, regenerative science, molecular
diagnostics, agricultural and environmental research, and 21st
century forensics. Life Technologies had sales of more than $3
billion in 2008, employs approximately 9,500 people, has a presence
in more than 100 countries, and possesses a rapidly growing
intellectual property estate of approximately 3,600 patents and
exclusive licenses. Life Technologies was created by the
combination of Invitrogen Corporation and Applied Biosystems Inc.
For more information on how we are making a difference please visit
our website: www.lifetechnologies.com.
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a
non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking
research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on
helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological
disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. For more
information, visit: www.tgen.org.
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For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Copyright 2009. Life Technologies Corporation. All rights reserved.
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