On April 4, 2022 ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, reported that it has entered into an agreement with QIAGEN, a recognized leader in bioinformatics solutions, to provide them with sequencing data from its collection of cell lines, and animal and human biological materials (Press release, Qiagen, APR 4, 2022, View Source [SID1234611413]). QIAGEN Digital Insights, the bioinformatics unit of QIAGEN, will establish a database from this information to develop and deliver high-value digital biology content for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, enabling the use of authenticated biological data sets to uncover new disease pathways and discover novel therapeutic targets.
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"This first-of-its-kind arrangement will allow ATCC to provide data provenance that is traceable, standardized and authenticated to its original source," said Raymond H. Cypess, D.V.M., Ph.D., chairman and CEO of ATCC. "We are embracing this digital biotechnology to be able to share our expertise in advancing authentication to the research community."
"Our expertise in bioinformatics software and services, combined with ATCC’s sequencing data, will further expand our genomics knowledge and OmicSoft Land databases, thus empowering scientists from around the world with actionable insights into the discovery and development of precision therapeutics," said Jonathan Sheldon, Senior Vice President and Head of QIAGEN Digital Insights. "We are honored to be collaborating with ATCC on this project."
Cell lines form the cornerstone of cell-based experimentation studies that help researchers understand the underlying mechanisms of normal and disease biology, including cancer. However, it is commonly acknowledged that inaccurate public datasets and contamination may adversely affect biomedical research and development and the effective use of bioinformatics platforms.
ATCC will initially produce fully authenticated transcriptome (RNAseq) and whole exome sequencing (WES) datasets from the most highly utilized human and animal cell lines found in ATCC’s collection. These datasets will include multiple biological and technical replicates that will help establish a baseline for a wide range of cell lines under typical cell culture conditions. Users will also be able to request datasets to be included in the database in the future.
"This agreement will enable a data-driven drug discovery process to take shape – where the data representing biological materials can be searched, analyzed and incorporated into existing research pipelines," said Ruth Cheng, Ph.D., Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer & Vice President of Corporate Development. "This will, in turn, enable researchers to discover new cell lines in our collection to include in their research that previously may have remained largely hidden from view."
QIAGEN Digital Insights provides solutions that enable its customers within healthcare, forensics, academia, and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. Their sample and assay technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials and make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights, tied together in seamless and cost-effective workflows through automation solutions.