OGT Optimizes Rare Disease Sequencing and Analysis Service

Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), a provider of innovative clinical genetics and diagnostics solutions to advance molecular medicine, has extended its Genefficiency™ Sequencing Service. The service will now include the investigation of rare genetic diseases.

OGT’s Sequencing Service has been designed to optimize the service already provided, helping investigators and clinicians identify causative mutations quickly and easily, without the need for in-house technical or bioinformatics expertise.

The comprehensive service includes SNA enrichment using the Agilent SureSelect V4 or V4+UTR platforms, sequencing at 50x coverage on an Illumina HiSeq™2000 and expert data analysis using OGT’s software platform. In addition to whole exome sequencing, targeted sequencing utilising OGT’s expertise in custom capture probe design is also available. OGT has externally accredited laboratory procedures and quality control systems, meaning that data can be produced to the highest possible quality.

The company hopes that the new bespoke, cost-effective service will help speed up research into diseases that, due to their rarity, have not traditionally attracted extensive research efforts.

James Clough, Vice President Clinical & Genomic Solutions at OGT, commented: “Since we launched our new Genefficiency Targeted Sequencing Service last year, we have seen a lot of interest from researchers and clinicians looking to investigate rare diseases using our sequencing offering. To meet this rising demand and make the genetic analysis of rare disease even easier, faster and more cost-effective, we have extended our service to offer a dedicated solution to these customers. Due to our high-throughput capabilities, we can process large sample cohorts in as little as eight weeks, while our innovative analysis platform allows users to concentrate on the biology of their study, rather than on sample processing, quality control and complex data analysis.”