A Medical Device Daily

Illumina (San Diego) and Agilent (Santa Clara, California) reported entering into a non-exclusive co-marketing agreement to support a new, scalable solution for researchers conducting targeted resequencing studies.

According to the companies, the Agilent SureSelect Target Enrichment System, optimized for Illumina's next-generation sequencing platform, the Genome Analyzer, provides researchers with a method for efficiently resequencing specific regions of interest in the genome. This cost-effective approach significantly simplifies the lab process while providing even coverage and high alignment rates. When combined with Illumina's Genome Analyzer, the Agilent SureSelect Target Enrichment System allows researchers to conduct studies that otherwise would not be feasible, the companies noted.

Illumina and Agilent are highlighting the benefits of their combined solution at the American Association of Cancer Research (Philadelphia) meeting this week in Denver. The new research protocol enables scientists to interrogate multiple regions of interest in order to detect rare mutations, such as those commonly found in cancer, while taking advantage of low sample input requirements. Targeted resequencing also enables scientists to sequence areas identified through genome-wide association studies in addition to sequencing candidate genes and candidate regions, the companies said.

"A partnership with Agilent underscores our commitment to build upon the utility of our next-generation sequencing technology, helping researchers plan and execute studies at a scale never before possible," said Jay Flatley, president/CEO of Illumina. "We continue to expand our portfolio of solutions with powerful tools for studying genetic variation. This solution provides the research community with a cost-effective, automation-friendly, and flexible approach to targeted resequencing for a wide variety of applications."

"The Agilent SureSelect Target Enrichment System requires only standard equipment already in the next-generation sequencing workflow," said Nick Roelofs, PhD, Agilent's VP and general manager, Life Science Solutions Unit. "The SureSelect platform draws upon Agilent's distinctive ability to accurately and reliably custom-manufacture oligos greater than 100 base pairs, resulting in highly specific capture of genome variance."

He added, "When combined with Illumina's Genome Analyzer, researchers can design their own experiments and take advantage of Illumina's long reads to achieve timely, reproducible results while reducing cost and increasing robustness. The SureSelect System enables scientists to easily and efficiently design custom content through eArray probe design and incorporate automation for scalability and cost efficiencies."

According to Illumina, its Genome Analyzer, designed for facilities of all sizes, has been adopted across genome centers worldwide, as well as individual research labs, core and service facilities, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The Genome Analyzer offers the highest rate of daily output and the simplest, most user-friendly workflow, according to the company.

According to Agilent, the SureSelect Target Enrichment System is a unique tool for greatly streamlining next generation sequencing research by enabling scientists to sequence only genomic areas of interest. When sequencing only a particular segment of the genome, the Agilent SureSelect platform can be used to capture a subset of exons or other genome targets and wash away the rest of the genome, the company said.