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BGI, Fred Hutchinson Sign Collaboration MOU

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Chinese genomics firm BGI and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said today that they intend to collaborate on projects in a range of diseases, as well as establish research alliances with groups in China and Africa.

According to the partners, they have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on projects in areas including cancer genomics, immunology, and infectious disease by leveraging BGI's proprietary sequencing technology and Hutchinson's cancer research and analysis expertise.

They also plan to explore potential alliances with hospitals and research institutions in China — particularly in Shenzhen where BGI is headquartered — and in Africa including the Uganda Cancer Institute, a Hutchinson collaborator.

"We look forward to exploring and working with BGI on many important research projects with the shared goal of ensuring that more people around the world can benefit from new discoveries and better treatments," Edus Houston Warren, head of global oncology at Seattle-based Hutchinson, said in a statement.

BGI announced in June that it had met with Hutchinson investigators including Warren about a potential alliance.

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