Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

BioDiscovery, Thermo Fisher Partner on Cancer Research Offering

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – BioDiscovery announced today that it has partnered with Thermo Fisher Scientific on the development of an end-to-end cancer research product.

Under the terms of the deal, the companies will create an assay and software research package based on BioDiscovery's Nexus Express for OncoScan software — a copy number detection and downstream analysis tool developed for Affymetrix's OncoScan CNV assay — for Thermo's cancer research product portfolio. Thermo acquired Affymetrix in 2016.

Additional terms were not disclosed.

BioDiscovery had been working with Affymetrix for a number of years prior to the Thermo acquisition. In 2011, BioDiscovery become the preferred software provider for Affy's OncoScan FFPE Express Service data analysis, and in 2013 the companies introduced the Nexus for OncoScan software.

"Numerous researchers across the globe have relied on our flagship Nexus copy number product, as well as the Nexus Express for OncoScan software product, for quick and robust analysis of genomic data," BioDiscovery Founder Soheil Shams said in a statement. "We have seen a significant increase in OEM customers due to our software development capabilities. Our goal is to ensure our partners have a strategic advantage against the competition by leveraging our software."

The Scan

Machine Learning Helps ID Molecular Mechanisms of Pancreatic Islet Beta Cell Subtypes in Type 2 Diabetes

The approach helps overcome limitations of previous studies that had investigated the molecular mechanisms of pancreatic islet beta cells, the authors write in their Nature Genetics paper.

Culture-Based Methods, Shotgun Sequencing Reveal Transmission of Bifidobacterium Strains From Mothers to Infants

In a Nature Communications study, culture-based approaches along with shotgun sequencing give a better picture of the microbial strains transmitted from mothers to infants.

Microbial Communities Can Help Trees Adapt to Changing Climates

Tree seedlings that were inoculated with microbes from dry, warm, or cold sites could better survive drought, heat, and cold stress, according to a study in Science.

A Combination of Genetics and Environment Causes Cleft Lip

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers investigate what combination of genetic and environmental factors come into play to cause cleft lip/palate.