SANTA CLARA, Calif., and SHENZHEN, China, Feb. 28, 2012 – Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) and BGI today announced a collaborative effort to develop methodologies designated for next-generation genome-wide association studies. The methodologies will assist scientists pursuing disease and drug research.
The goal of the collaboration is to create a next-generation super exome, using Agilent's SureSelect technology. The super exome incorporates sequence regions believed to be more informative for specific human populations. BGI is the largest genome sequencing center in Asia and one of the largest genomics research centers in the world.
"BGI aims to develop research collaborations and provide support to scientists all over the world," said Hui Jiang, associate director of the Science and Technology Department at BGI. "Together with Agilent's expertise, we can create more precise and accurate technology that can be deployed in large-scale research to better understand complex diseases, which may have differences between ethnicities."
As part of this collaboration, BGI has selected to use Agilent's comprehensive portfolio of solutions for genomics research and next-generation sequencing tools. These include Agilent's SureSelect target-enrichment system and Agilent's 2100 bioanalyzers. Additionally, Agilent will grant BGI early access to newly developed tools for the sequencing space.
"Agilent has a comprehensive portfolio of market-leading solutions for genomics research," said Robert Schueren, vice president and general manager of Agilent's genomics business. "This partnership with BGI will not only add to this portfolio, but also further Agilent's mission to build products that enable life sciences discoveries and develop solutions that improve the human condition."
BGI and Agilent have been working closely together over the years. Previously, BGI used Agilent's technologies to streamline and enhance the throughput of BGI's next-generation sequencing workflow. In China, BGI became the country's first certified SureSelect XT service provider.
About BGI
BGI was founded in Beijing in 1999 with the mission of being a premier scientific partner to the global research community. The goal of BGI is to make leading-edge genomic science highly accessible through its investment in infrastructure that leverages the best available technology, economies of scale and expert bioinformatics resources. BGI and its affiliates (BGI Americas, based in Cambridge, Mass., and BGI Europe, based in Copenhagen, Denmark) have established partnerships and collaborations with leading academic and government research institutions as well as global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, supporting a variety of medical, agricultural, environmental, and related applications.
For more information about BGI, visit www.genomics.cn.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 18,700 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $6.6 billion in fiscal 2011. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.