NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Radboud University Medical Center and NimaGen said today that they have agreed to codevelop target enrichment library prep kits for next-generation sequencing.
Specifically, the partners plan to develop kits based on single-molecule molecular inversion probes (smMIPs). NimaGen will manufacture the kits to be sold under its proprietary EasySeq technology line. Alexander Hoischen, an assistant professor at Radboud UMC, said in a statement that smMIPs have "key advantages, including ease of use and high accuracy."
The agreement builds on a previous collaboration under which Radboud and NimaGen codeveloped an oncology hotspot kit and a kit to analyze the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. NimaGen also manufactures and sells those kits under its EasySeq line.
The new collaboration "will enable us to integrate the expertise of Radboud UMC into NimaGen's growing portfolio of NGS products," NimaGen CEO Ruud van der Steen added.
The partners also noted that they are now developing a pharmacogenomics panel and a Lynch syndrome panel.