Agencourt^® Receives Contract for National Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Genomics

Agencourt Bioscience Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Beckman Coulter, Inc., today announced that its Genomic Services received a major sequencing contract for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health. Under the agreement, NCI will supply Agencourt with normal and cancer tumor tissue samples and periodic lists of genes and targeted regions to be sequenced. The goal of the project is to provide NCI research collaborators with a consistent, cost-effective, high-throughput sequencing resource. NCI collaborators who are working on cancer genomics research may request the sequencing of specific genes at any time. The initial term of the contract is one year, with an option to renew for a second year.

Collaborators will submit sequence trace data to the National Center for Biotechnology information (NCBI) and the base calls will be placed in a database managed by the NCI. Agencourt will also develop a special web site that is accessible by project collaborators. This web site, with the posted information, will allow NCI collaborators to query the NCBI Trace database for additional metadata and relate it to other experimental results and clinical data by bio-specimen ID. The project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.

“We are delighted to be selected as the provider for this important project, which may lead to better treatment of cancer,” commented Erick Suh Director, Genomic Services. “Agencourt is the premier commercial service provider for sequence based mutation discovery and we have many successful relationships with prestigious organizations.” The field of cancer genomics is a key focus of Agencourt Genomic Services. Late last year the company announced that its Genomic Services were integral in a breakthrough Johns Hopkins study on the genetic code for breast and colon cancers. A widely publicized report on that study was co-authored by James Hartigan, an Agencourt project manager. The research identified close to 200 mutated genes, now linked to these cancers, most of which were not previously recognized as associated with tumor initiation, growth, spread or control.