NEW YORK – Ultima Genomics and Quest Diagnostics on Tuesday announced a collaboration to develop new sequencing-based clinical tests.
According to the companies, these could be assays based on the minimal residual disease IP that Quest gained through its acquisition of Haystack Oncology last year, as well as other applications like whole-genome sequencing for pediatric rare disease detection.
Ultima recently unveiled its platform, which it claims can sequence a whole human genome for $100. Its first commercial instrument is the UG 100 System.
"Ultima's technology was designed for applications requiring greater sequencing depth, breadth, or frequency, and both MRD testing and whole-genome sequencing are premier examples of these. Our unique advantages in SNV detection, combined with greater sequencing depth at lower cost, can be transformational for oncology applications and MRD, as well as for cell-free DNA applications and applications with challenging samples," Ultima CEO Gilad Almogy said in a statement.
Quest said it believes that Ultima's economical sequencing methodology will be complemented by its own large-scale laboratory infrastructure, which can drive down costs even further, increasing patient access.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.