CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GnuBIO, Inc. (GnuBIO), www.gnubio.com a pioneer in the Desktop DNA sequencing market, announced today that it will begin shipments of its beta system, the world’s first fully-integrated DNA sequencing system, to beta sites on April 1, 2013. Unlike other sequencing instruments or “workflows” that require many days of sample preparation, or require large upfront expensive robotics, the GnuBIO system is the size of desktop computer and provides a fully-integrated solution. The researcher or clinician simply injects the patient genomic DNA into a cartridge with no need for target enrichment or library preparation, loads the cartridge into the instrument, hits the “Go” button, and in 3.5 hours receives the analyzed sequence of the gene panel including variant calls and quality scores. Both the small footprint of the system, as well as the price of $50,000 USD all in – no additional equipment or large robotics to purchase - will ensure rapid adoption of the GnuBIO solution.
World renowned researchers and clinicians, within industry and academia, have been approaching GnuBIO for solutions that involve “hotspot” sequencing of known variants, as well as for the broader sequencing of gene panels in order to allow variant detection across hundreds of targets, at allele frequencies below 1%, while at the same time quantifying copy number variations (CNV’s). The GnuBIO beta system can achieve all of these solutions with one platform.
The GnuBIO system has a completely integrated workflow, inclusive of genomic selection, amplification, sequencing and real time informatics (assembly and variant calling), allowing researchers and clinicians to simply inject genomic DNA, and walk away – with data provided on the targeted regions within a few hours. The commercial system will sell for $50K USD, and will not require any additional sample preparation systems or informatics clusters.
The GnuBIO beta cartridges have fully validated probe libraries, and the system has a proprietary optical solution to distinguish amongst a dye barcode space of over 250,000 colors. “The large color space and detection mechanisms on the GnuBIO system will allow for additional applications, such as those that are proteomic based to be run on the same system,” stated Tal Raz, Head of Molecular Biology at GnuBIO. “From a clinical and research perspective, the ability to sequence with copy number variation detection, interrogate hot spots, and run proteomic applications to validate function, is very appealing,” Raz continued.
“The sample in, answer out, GnuBIO solution will usher in a new era in DNA sequencing that will truly carry genomics from the lab to the clinic,” stated John Boyce, President and CEO of GnuBIO. “The low capital cost and fast turnaround time, combined with the ease of use and minimal training, positions GnuBIO very well to be the leader in clinical genomics,” Boyce continued.
About GnuBIO
GnuBIO, Inc. (www.gnubio.com) is a private company and a pioneer in the field of scalable DNA sequencing technology for the Diagnostic and Applied Markets. Utilizing its proprietary microfluidic and emulsion technologies, GnuBIO will work within these markets to develop nucleic acid analysis based systems that scale as a function of both patient sample and genomic region. The GnuBIO system has the capability of running numbers of samples that are in line with diagnostic and applied market requirements for a cost that is orders of magnitude lower than with current technology.
The GnuBIO system has a completely integrated workflow, inclusive of genomic selection, amplification, sequencing and real time informatics (assembly and variant calling), allowing researchers and clinicians to simply inject genomic DNA, and walk away – with data on the target regions in a few hours.