LEXINGTON, Mass. & MARCO ISLAND, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RainDance Technologies, Inc., the Digital Biology™ Company, and customers including the National Cancer Institute (NCI), British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA), and Asuragen will highlight recent successes with RainDance’s advanced targeted sequencing solutions for cancer research at this year’s Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) meeting. RainDance is also a sponsor and presenter at AGBT which is taking place in Marco Island, Florida from February 15-18.
“We are seeing more and more customers generate exciting examples of how impactful a rare variant approach in cancer research can be using the RainDance platform,” said Andy Watson, Chief Marketing Officer at RainDance Technologies. “Our customers are seeing that it clearly pays to be on target and our Targeted Sequencing Solutions are enabling them to achieve unprecedented coverage in an automated streamlined workflow with better sample-to-answer economics than alternative methods.”
Multiple Products Targeting Unmet Needs in Cancer Analysis
RainDance continues to power ground-breaking cancer research with its novel picodroplet-based technologies that are enabling new research into cancer identification and characterization. The company offers a full portfolio of integrated cancer analysis solutions consisting of fully automated instrumentation, a sophisticated primer design pipeline, and high-value consumables and reagents for applications such as Targeted DNA Sequencing, ultra-deep sequencing of FFPE samples (DeepSeq™ FFPE Solution), cancer hotspot mutation detection, cancer pathway analysis (ONCOSeq™ Panel), methylation analysis (MethylSeq™ Solution), Digital PCR, and in the future, single cell analysis. The company also offers an innovative DirectSeq™ workflow that significantly reduces sample processing time by eliminating standard library construction for all next-generation sequencing platforms, including Illumina’s HiSeq™ and MiSeq™ and Ion Torrent’s PGM™ Systems.
Rapid Adoption of ThunderStorm™ System
The company’s technology is being rapidly adopted by leading research institutions for applications including targeted next-generation DNA sequencing, rare mutation detection, genetic screening research, and methylation analysis. Several customers, including Ambry Genetics and BCCA, have recently purchased the company’s new ThunderStorm™ System, a fully-automated and walkaway high-throughput targeted sequencing solution that enables researchers to process 96 samples per run. Ambry Genetics is using the system to provide high-throughput next-generation genetic testing services. BCCA is sequencing a large number of samples from patients with hereditary predisposition to various cancers in order to generate data that will help guide clinical management. BCCA is presenting a poster at the AGBT meeting related to ongoing work that utilizes the RainDance platform.
Ground-breaking Discoveries and Publications
Recent peer-reviewed papers highlighting the capabilities of the RainDance platform were published in New England Journal of Medicine1 and Genome Biology2, which both demonstrate the company’s “hotspot” approach for detecting rare genetic mutations linked to cancer. Additional publications include the Journal of Translational Medicine3 (DeepSeq™), as well as PLoS One4 and Genome Research5 (MethylSeq™).
In their New England Journal of Medicine publication, scientists from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the University of Michigan Health System, Wake Forest University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) demonstrate the use of RainDance’s targeted sequencing solution in the detection of rare mutations linked to prostate-cancer risk. Working with RainDance, the researchers designed a custom primer panel to amplify approximately 2,800 amplicons representing more than 2,000 exons from their target region. Results include the identification of a previously unknown recurrent mutation linked to prostate-cancer risk.
In their Genome Biology publication, researchers from the University of California, San Diego examine low prevalence somatic mutations in breast, colon and ovarian tumors, using a solution which included RainDance’s automated instrument system and cancer hotspot panel, as well as an ultra-deep targeted sequencing assay (UDT-Seq) and protocol. The ultra-deep targeted sequencing assay used in this study enabled the detection of low prevalence mutations at more than 70,000 positions in the mutational hotspots of 42 cancer genes and more than 6,000 COSMIC ID’s.
The RainDance Digital PCR (dPCR) platform was also highlighted in two Lab on a Chip6, 7 publications. The first, a study from RainDance and the Université de Strasbourg in France, describes the platform’s unprecedented multiplexing capabilities. The second, from Université de Strasbourg, Université Paris Descartes, and RainDance, demonstrates how the RainDance dPCR technology was used to detect a single mutated KRAS oncogene in a 200,000-fold background of normal KRAS genes expressed by cell lines.
RainDance at AGBT
RainDance and its customers will be discussing the new ThunderStorm System at AGBT in Marco Island, Florida on February 15-18. Meeting activities include:
- Andy Watson will discuss the ThunderStorm System and recent customer successes during the RainDance workshop at 3:15pm on February 17.
- The ThunderStorm System will be showcased throughout AGBT in RainDance’s hospitality suite (Lanai Suite 287).
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Poster presentations featuring RainDance’s technology include:
- Accurate, High Sensitivity Next Generation Sequencing of Targeted Cancer Genes in FFPE and FNA Clinical Specimens (Asuragen; Chen L, et al.)
- Implementation of a Clinically-Compliant Diagnostic High Throughput Sequencing Pipeline (British Columbia Cancer Agency; Moore R, et al.)
- Evaluation of Whole Genome Amplified DNA Samples for Targeted Sequencing (National Cancer Institute; McCary A, et al.)
- Droplet-Based Digital PCR for High Sensitivity Detection of Cancer Biomarkers (Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires; Taly V, et al.)
Citations
1. Ewing CM, Ray AM, Lange EM, Zuhlke KA, Robbins CM, Tembe WD, et al. Germline Mutations In HOXB13 and Prostate-Cancer Risk. New England Journal of Medicine. (2012). 366:141-9. To view an abstract of this publication, please visit: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1110000.
2. Harismendy O, Schwab RB, Bao L, Olson J, Rozenzhak S, Kotsopoulos SK, Pond S, Crain B, Chee MS, Messer K, Link DR, Frazer KA. Detection of Low Prevalence Somatic Mutations in Solid Tumors With Ultra-Deep Targeted Sequencing. Genome Biology. (2011). 12:R124. doi:10.1186/gb-2011-12-12-r124. To view abstract, please visit: http://genomebiology.com/2011/12/12/R124/abstract.
3. Holbrook JD, Parker JS, Gallagher KT, Halsey WS, Hughes AM, Weigman V, Lebowitz PF, Kumar R. Deep Sequencing Of Gastric Carcinoma Reveals Somatic Mutations Relevant To Personalized Medicine. Journal of Translational Medicine. (2011). 9:119. doi:10.1186/1479-5876-9-119. To view abstract, please visit: http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/9/1/119.
4. Herrmann A, Haake A, Ammerpohl O, Martin-Guerrero I, Szafranski K, Stemshorn K, Nothnagel M, Kostsopoulos SK, Richter J, Warner J, Olson J, Link DR, Schreiber S, Krawczak M, Platzer M, Nurnberg P, Siebert R, Hampe J. Pipeline for Large-Scale Microdroplet Bisulfite PCR-Based Sequencing Allows the Tracking of Hepitype Evolution in Tumors. PLoS ONE (2011). 6(7): e21332. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021332. To view abstract, please visit: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0021332.
5. Komori HK, LaMere S, Torkamani A, Hart GT, Kotsopoulos S, Warner J, Samuels ML, Olson J, Head SR, Ordoukhanian P, Lee PL, Link DR, Salomon DR. (2011). Application of Microdroplet PCR for Large-Scale Targeted Bisulfite Sequencing. Genome Research. (2011). doi:10.1101/gr.116863.110. To view abstract, please visit: http://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2011/07/14/gr.116863.110.abstract
6. Zhong Q, Bhattacharya S, Kotsopoulos S, Olson J, Taly V, Griffiths AD, Link DR, Larson JW. Multiplex digital PCR: breaking the one target per color barrier of quantitative PCR. Lab on a Chip. (2011). doi:10.1039/C1LC20126C. To view abstract, please visit: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2011/lc/c1lc20126c.
7. Pekin D, Skhiri Y, Baret J, Le Corre D, Mazutis L, Ben Salem C, Millot F, El Harrak A, Hutchison JB, Larson JW, Link DR, Laurent-Puig P, Griffiths AD, Taly V. Quantitative and sensitive detection of rare mutations using droplet-based microfluidics. Lab on a Chip (2011). doi:10.1039/C1LC20128J. To view abstract, please visit: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2011/lc/c1lc20128j.
About RainDance Technologies
RainDance Technologies, the Digital Biology™ Company, is pioneering the use of high-throughput picodroplet-based analysis in human health and life science research. The company's core RainStorm™ technology generates millions of discrete droplets that can encapsulate a single molecule, cell or reaction and be digitally analyzed and sorted one at a time. The power, precision and simplicity of picodroplets enable researchers to answer complex questions with unprecedented sensitivity and quantitation. The complete RainDance solution includes automated instrumentation, customizable bioinformatics and high-value consumables and reagents for applications including targeted next-generation DNA sequencing, methylation, digital PCR and single cell analysis. Based in Lexington, Massachusetts, the company supports scientists around the world through its international sales and support operations and a global network of distributors and service providers. For more information, please visit www.RainDanceTech.com.
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RainDance Technologies, the RainDance Technologies logo, RainStorm, ThunderStorm, Digital Biology, DeepSeq, ONCOSeq, DirectSeq and MethylSeq are trademarks of RainDance Technologies, Inc. All other brands may be trademarks of their respective holders.