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Empire Genomics, Kromatid to Develop Tools for Detecting Cancer Genomic Structural Variations

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Empire Genomics announced today that it has partnered with Kromatid to develop tools to help researchers detect and understand genomic structural variations of cancer patients.

The companies will combine Empire's next-generations sequencing services, FISH probe portfolio, and CLIA-certified laboratory with Kromatid's Pinpoint probes and new directional genomic hybridization technology — a tool capable of detecting and visualizing structural variations as low as 3Kb at the single-cell level.

"We look forward to using the Kromatid technology to help researchers examine legacy samples as well as in complement moving forward with NGS experiments to identify many more structural variations," Empire CEO Anthony Johnson said in a statement.  

Buffalo, NY-based Empire Genomics is a 2006 spinout from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute that develops molecular diagnostic products and provides assay-development services. The company closed a $1.75 million follow-on financing round in May 2016, after receiving approval from New York State to offer molecular and cellular tumor marker testing through the state's Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP).

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