Oxford Nanopore Technologies and bioMérieux SA, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, today announced that they have teamed up to improve health outcomes globally by exploring selected opportunities to bring nanopore sequencing to the infectious disease diagnostics market. 

The companies are jointly exploring selected opportunities to advance patient care by providing access to nanopore-based clinical research and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) solutions.

Nanopore-based sequencing is a novel technology that enables analysis of long DNA or RNA fragments. It works by monitoring changes to an electrical current as nucleic acids are passed through a protein nanopore. The resulting signal is decoded to provide the specific DNA or RNA sequence. The unique real-time, scalable features of this technology make it ideal for the rapid and cost-effective characterisation of pathogens in clinical samples.

Offering rapid and accurate identification of microbial pathogens and associated antimicrobial resistance, Oxford Nanopore is uniquely positioned to deliver nanopore-based sequencing solutions that provide comprehensive results and reduce time to results for infectious diseases research and diagnostic applications.

Initial areas of collaboration will include a test for determining antibiotic resistance of tuberculosis; an assay to identify pathogens in normally sterile clinical samples; and validating Oxford Nanopore’s sequencing platform with BIOMÉRIEUX EPISEQ® CS application for rapid infection outbreak monitoring in patient-care settings.

Gordon Sanghera, Oxford Nanopore Technologies Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to partner with bioMérieux’s IVD expertise to add powerful new tools for the fight against infectious disease. By offering rapid and accurate identification of pathogens and associated antimicrobial resistance, at scale, we hope to better equip the specialists for whom speed and access to comprehensive data is key.”  

Alexandre Mérieux, bioMérieux Chairman and CEO, commented: “We are excited to enter into a research partnership with Oxford Nanopore in the field of infectious diseases. New technologies such as sequencing hold promise to improve diagnostics and patient care; our teams will collaborate in this direction.”