NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Myriad Genetics will adopt RainDance Technologies' microdroplet PCR-based target enrichment technology for use in a next-generation sequencing-based hereditary cancer panel test that Myriad is currently developing, the companies said today.
Under a multi-year supply agreement, RainDance will provide Myriad with ThunderStorm target enrichment systems, reagents, gene panels, and consumables.
The agreement "marks an important milestone in our preparation for the future launch of our next-generation HCP test," Mark Capone, president of Myriad Genetics Laboratories, said in a statement.
Myriad said it evaluated several DNA enrichment technologies for the HCP test, and "the ThunderStorm System from RainDance represented the most automated and affordable solution for large-volume genetic testing."
According to Capone, the system offers "unparalleled genomic coverage, the ability to detect large gene rearrangements, workflow benefits, and a favorable cost profile, all of which have been critical in overcoming the challenges associated with creating content- rich next-generation sequencing gene panels suitable for a high-throughput commercial laboratory."
The ThunderStorm allows researchers to target and amplify up to 20,000 genomic regions and can process up to 96 samples. It also is compatible with any next-generation sequencing platform, though Myriad has not disclosed which sequencer it intends to use for the test.
According to the company, the test will analyze "numerous" high-prevalence genes that play "a critical role" in the risk for inherited cancers and will cover "a broad spectrum" of cancer types. It will "give a more complete assessment of inherited cancer risk than any currently marketed product."
Myriad did not provide a launch date for the HCP test.
A more in-depth version of this article appears in GenomeWeb Daily News sister publication Clinical Sequencing News.