NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Genomics data firm PierianDx today announced that it is collaborating with Phoenix Children's Hospital on the development of a sequencing-based test for use in a pediatric cancer study.
The firm also said that Phoenix Children's and the University of Arizona have joined the company's partner network and will use its products and services.
Phoenix Children's and PierianDx are jointly developing and validating the next-generation sequencing-based test, which the St. Louis-based company said will be the first of its kind encompassing non-malignant exome, cancer exome, and RNA sequencing.
"Drug development for pediatric cancers is an area that has not received due attention, so we are hopeful that with this approach, many new treatment options for children suffering from various types of cancer will be identified," Phoenix Children's Hospital Chief Research Officer Nazneen Ariz said.
Meanwhile, the University of Arizona Genomics Core will use PierianDx's Clinical Genomicist Workstation and the company's bioinformatics expertise to develop and validate a cancer panel of more than 500 genes that will be able to detect all variant types. The Clinical Genomicist Workstation, licensed from Washington University in St. Louis, is a software platform for next-generation sequencing clinical tests and manages data and workflow.
UA Genetics Core Director Michael Hammer said in a statement that the platform will help the university streamline the reporting of genomic profiling results while facilitating the curation of a clinical grade variant database.
"Not only will this partnership aid our oncologists in the pursuit of better treatments for their cancer patients today, this will provide unprecedented opportunities to match the right patient with the right treatment, and ultimately improve the outcome for many patients in the years to come," he said.