NEW YORK – Bioinformatics company Genome Insight and pediatric healthcare system Shriners Children's said on Thursday that they have launched a collaboration to develop targeted treatment options for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).
San Diego-based Genome Insight, a spinout from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, will analyze genomic data from 100 adolescent patients treated at Shriners Children’s via its whole-genome sequencing analysis and interpretation platform.
The collaborators hope that AIS-associated genetic variants and alterations discovered through this collaboration, formally called Unraveling the Genetic Mysteries of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Groundbreaking Research Collaboration, will provide the information needed to develop targeted interventions, personalized treatment approaches, and potential preventive measures.
"This research collaboration holds immense promise in advancing our understanding of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis," Erin Connolly-Strong, chief medical science officer of Genome Insight, said in a statement. "While there have been previous studies that have utilized whole-genome sequencing, this will be the largest whole-genome sequencing [AIS project] to date, resulting in more robust data."
Genome Insight incorporated in the US last year and raised $23 million in Series B funding.