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Edico Genome Collaborates with Intel on Computer Processors for NGS Data Analysis

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Edico Genome today announced a collaboration with Intel that it believes will create better next-generation sequencing data analysis products incorporating Intel's Xeon computer chips. 

La Jolla, Calif.-based Edico Genome aims to create a cloud-based data analysis platform that can handle large data sets, including population-scale genomic data, while still maintaining accuracy and efficiency, the firm said in a statement.

"Across industries, the demands of big data are pushing the limits of general purpose processing, creating an opportunity for optimized solutions that are able to keep up with specific data processing demands," Ketan Paranjape, Intel general manager for life sciences, said in a statement. "As the use of NGS grows, many of our customers, including hospitals and research institutions, have a need for solutions that can process and analyze these huge data sets rapidly and cost effectively."

Edico Genome's Dragen processor is a computer chip pre-loaded with algorithms for NGS data analysis that the firm's CEO, Pieter van Rooyen, indicated would be featured in the Intel collaboration. When combined, the Edico and Intel technologies can analyze a whole genome in approximately 20 minutes, the firm said; the collaboration aims to enable that analysis in real time. 

Van Rooyen added that the partnership would help introduce the firm's Dragen processor to Intel's existing life sciences customer base, increasing adoption of the technology.

In 2014, Intel collaborated with the Broad Institute to optimize the Genome Analysis Toolkit for Xeon-powered servers, cutting the time required to analyze a whole human genome from three days to one, Edico Genome noted.

Molecular diagnostics firm Sequenom last year adopted Edico Genome's Dragen processor for non-invasive prenatal testing data analysis.

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