QIAGEN Digital Insights Introduces Rapid NGS Analysis for Somatic Cancer

02 February 2024 | Friday | News

QIAGEN Digital Insights (QDI), the bioinformatics business of QIAGEN, announced their enhanced QIAGEN CLC Genomics Workbench Premium with LightSpeed technology now supports next-generation sequencing (NGS) for somatic cancer secondary analysis. The software accelerator converts raw sequencing data in FASTQ files to interpretable lists of genetic variants in VCF files at unprecedented low cost and high speed.

New software accelerator significantly reduces time and cost of NGS secondary analysis for somatic cancer, analyzing a 275-gene comprehensive cancer panel at 3377x coverage in just 6 minutes for less than $0.72 per test

Included in market-leading CLC Genomics analysis platform for desktop, server or cloud use

Enhances QDI’s leading portfolio of NGS analysis and interpretation solutions as cancer testing market moves towards comprehensive genomic profiling

QIAGEN’s LightSpeed technology is a game-changer for research and clinical labs performing high-throughput NGS for somatic applications. The software accelerator is much faster, more accurate, greener and cheaper than previous data-analysis and visualization solutions. Using less power and requiring no investments in new hardware or software licenses beyond CLC, LightSpeed can analyze a 275-gene comprehensive cancer panel at 3377x coverage in just 6 minutes for less than $0.72 per test within standard cloud environments. Alternatively, labs can efficiently run the QIAGEN CLC LightSpeed technology on existing local hardware with similar performance.

“LightSpeed technology for somatic applications will allow QDI to maintain its NGS analysis and interpretation leadership position as the cancer testing market moves away from focused gene panels to comprehensive genomic profiling,” said Dr. Jonathan Sheldon, Senior Vice President of QIAGEN Digital Insights. “The new capabilities enable small and large labs to significantly reduce turnaround time in oncology testing by removing key barriers in analysis cost and speed. The faster oncogenic variants are detected, the sooner appropriate treatments and therapies can be identified and administered.”

Last year, QIAGEN launched the QIAGEN CLC Genomics Workbench Premium with LightSpeed technology for germline applications, including whole genome sequencing (WGS), whole-exome sequencing (WES) and large panel sequencing data. Establishing a new precedent in NGS data analysis efficiency, LightSpeed can analyze an entire genome at 34x coverage on a computer in just 25 minutes and a 50x whole exome in 90 seconds within standard cloud environments. With QIAGEN CLC LightSpeed technology, labs can run WGS analyses for about $1 per genome and WES for less than a few cents per exome using standard cloud infrastructure.“

Christoph Meier, Bioinformatician at the University of Regensburg said: “CLC Genomics Workbench with LightSpeed module is the current backbone of our laboratory diagnostics for panel and exome analysis. The ability to create and modify our own workflows allows us to rapidly adapt. The software also allows team scientists without extensive programming knowledge to process data and evaluate their own results. The LightSpeed module allows large genetic data sets to be processed very quickly, and delivers precise results.”

QDI’s licensing models enable laboratories to analyze germline and somatic panels in parallel. For clinical labs who require an integrated and panel- and platform-agnostic FASTQ to final report solution, LightSpeed can be deployed through QCI Secondary Analysis, a cloud-based NGS secondary analysis software-as-a-service that seamlessly connects to QCI Interpret, a clinical variant interpretation and reporting platform.

QIAGEN Digital Insights Introduces Rapid NGS Analysis for Somatic Cancer

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