NEW YORK – Ultima Genomics and Genome Insight said on Monday that they are collaborating to develop affordable whole-genome sequencing testing for cancer patients.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Based in San Diego, Genome Insight is a spinout from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developing scalable and rapid whole-genome sequencing and data curation services for cancer and rare diseases.
As part of the agreement, Genome Insight will join the early-access program for Ultima's high-throughput sequencing platform, the UG 100, and optimize its whole-genome bioinformatics algorithm for cancer analysis using Ultima's sequencing technology.
With Ultima's high-throughput, low-cost sequencing platform, Genome Insight believes it can deliver curated WGS reports to patients and physicians at a cheaper cost than conventional NGS panels.
"We are excited to partner with Ultima to bring affordable whole-genome sequencing to cancer patients," Genome Insight CEO Young Seok Ju said in a statement. "This collaboration is an important step towards our vision of using whole-genome sequencing to improve patient outcomes."