NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Silicon Valley Biosystems has changed its name to Lifecode, the Foster City, Calif.-based company said today.
The new name "is consistent with the company's mission of improving the lives of patients by providing concise, accurate, and actionable molecular information," according to a statement from the firm.
The company, which has funding from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, as well as the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Ventures, announced its launch two years ago. It was co-founded by Dietrich Stephan, chair of the department of human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Stephan, the former CEO of SV Bio, now serves as Lifecode's scientist in chief.
Lifecode is developing a portfolio of next-generation sequencing-based cancer assays to detect and interpret genomic alterations in patient tumor samples. This week, it announced early access to the Pan Cancer Somatic Panel, a comprehensive tumor profiling assay.
"Our goal is to provide accurate and actionable information for use in both near- and long-term treatment decisions," said Chris Rivest, CEO of Lifecode, in a statement.
Two years ago, SV Bio joined forces with the Mayo Clinic to develop a clinical sequencing pipeline for cancer patients and patients with rare undiagnosed diseases.
Later that year, the firm received CLIA certification for its clinical laboratory.