University College London Cancer Institute Selects RainDance's ThunderStormT System for High-Throughput Targeted Sequencing

RainDance Technologies, Inc., the Digital Biology™ Company, today announced that the University College London (UCL) Cancer Institute has adopted its ThunderStormT System as a centralized platform for the validation of genomic and epigenomic targets from clinical and non-clinical studies, including follow-ups for genome-wide and epigenome-wide association studies (GWAS and EWAS), as well as stratified cancer medicine and basic research.

Leveraging RainDance's proven single-molecule picodroplet PCR technology, the ThunderStorm System supports a wide range of sequencing applications, including candidate gene screening, deep sequencing of heterogeneous tumor samples and medical genetics testing.

At the UCL Cancer Institute, scientists are focused on understanding how genetic and epigenetic variation contributes to phenotypic differences, particularly in cancer. In addition to mutations and genomic rearrangements, they are investigating DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNAs to better understand how they affect genome function when it comes to health and disease. Funds from a Wellcome Trust grant will be used to purchase the ThunderStorm System.

Stephan Beck, principal investigator and Professor of Medical Genomics at the UCL Cancer Institute, said: "Our consortium is very excited about this grant award from the Wellcome Trust. Access to a ThunderStorm platform will greatly enhance our ability to track down disease-causing changes in the genomes and epigenomes we are interrogating."

"Customers like UCL choose the ThunderStorm System because it offers them a production-ready platform for clinical research, generating the highest quality data with a completeness of coverage and uniformity in any chosen region of the genome," added Mark Dronsfield, Head of European Commercial Operations for RainDance Technologies." The ThunderStorm System provides users with a daily sample throughput, automated walk-away operation, and cost-effectiveness that are unmatched on any other commercial solution."