Pharma giant Roche is introducing a new offering intended to lighten the load of cancer researchers. Its AVENIO Tumor Tissue Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) Kit, developed with Roche unit Foundation Medicine, allows researchers to investigate tumours without the hassle of having to submit tissue samples to centralized laboratories.
"The Kit complements the current CGP portfolio offered by Roche and Foundation Medicine and allows laboratories to expand their oncology research in-house," a Roche representative said in a statement. "Ultimately, a future version of the kit may lead to additional resources for clinicians to use in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer."
Classified as a research-use-dedicated, next-gen sequencing test, AVENIO CPG covers the end-to-end workflow from DNA extraction/library preparation to generation of variant results, which are obtained through the FoundationOne Analysis platform. That platform was structured to match the FoundationOne CDx panel in the interest of establishing connection with 324 cancer-related genes in four main classes of genomic alterations and signatures that correlate with cancer causation.
Each of Roche's kits can handle 24 samples and achieve finalization—from DNA isolation to variant results—within a 5-day window. The kits run on Illumina IVD systems’ NextSeq 500/550 RUO in addition to NextSeq 550 Dx System in research mode. Roche partnered with Illumina in early 2020 to bring the AVENIO tests to fruition.
