This post has been updated to clarify that Drmanac's comments on the firm's current and expected genome outputs are per instrument.
At Complete Genomics' blog this week, Chief Scientific Officer Rade Drmanac touts the value of whole-genome sequencing, and says that the company is "continuing to scale up our commercial sequencing operation." Drmanac says that using the company's imaging system for its DNA nanoball arrays, Complete Genomics is currently generating one genome per instrument per day, adding that next year he expects each of the firm's imaging instruments to generate "several genomes per day." At that rate, Drmanac says, "it becomes feasible to sequence millions of human genomes per year for clinical use." In contemplating future clinical applications for whole-genome sequencing, Drmanac speculates that "genomes from cancer biopsies will revolutionize cancer treatment for the several million new patients diagnosed each year." He also expects that in the coming years, patients with tough-to-diagnose diseases "will have their genomes sequenced immediately to help their physicians understand their condition." Personal genome sequencing will become the routine "universal genetic test," because of its non-invasive, yet comprehensive, nature, Drmanac adds.