Oxford University Hospital, Newcastle Medical Genetics, Aberdeen Medical Genetics, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust and NewGene leverage Sophia Genetics’ industry-leading genetic analysis technology 

GLASGOW, Scotland. June 6, 2015: Sophia Genetics has today announced five new partnerships with leading British healthcare institutions, offering patients with cancers or other hereditary diseases the best possible chance of diagnosis and treatment. Oxford University Hospital, Newcastle Medical Genetics, Aberdeen Medical Genetics, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust and NewGene (the Northern Genetics Service) will leverage Sophia’s Data Driven Medicine Platform, which uses the most sophisticated machine learning and algorithms, to offer clinicians the most accurate, speedy and cost-effective means to offer genomic analysis of samples to their patients.

“We are at the cusp of personalised medicine becoming a reality for everyone,” says Dr. Jurgi Camblong, CEO and co-founder of Sophia Genetics. “The identification of a particular gene can play a huge role in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as breast cancer or some forms of heart disease. Genomic analysis has for too long focused on providing support for research projects. Instead it should prioritise the requirements of doctors at the front line of understanding and treating diseases. We’re committed to supporting UK clinicians with industry-leading genetic analysis technology which will ultimately help them to improve patient care and diagnosis.”

With the advent of more efficient and cost-effective sequencing technology, clinicians are facing a new era of personalised medicine where patients can be diagnosed faster and more accurately using advanced technology to de-code the genetic make-up of some common cancers and inherited conditions, such as cystic fibrosis. Speaking at the European Society of Genetics Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Sophia Genetics will highlight the continued unmet need for access to high-level genetic testing and better diagnosis in the UK.

Customer anecdotes:

Anneke Seller, Consultant Director of Genetics, Oxford University Hospital: “Increasing use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) testing in the clinic is inevitable. Sophia Genetics understands our clinical needs.”

Gavin Cuthbert, Head of Cancer Cytogenetics Service, NewGene (Northern Genetics Service) said: “Sophia Genetics came highly recommended. We are currently working to validate our NGS workflow utilising their technical support and data analysis and have been impressed by their products and services.”

Angele Silmon, CEO of NewGene (Northern Genetics Service): “We have always found Sophia Genetics easy to work with. Their thorough and professional approach to data analysis and process validation has allowed us to explore a wider range of NGS diagnostic tools than would otherwise have not been possible in such a quick timeframe.”

Christine Bell, Healthcare Scientist and Principal Consultant, Aberdeen Medical Genetics: “Working with Sophia Genetics has allowed us to investigate and validate this gene panel more quickly and with greater confidence than we could have done on our own, speeding up the process of introducing the new NGS test to our routine service.”

As part of its mission to accelerate the routine clinical use of genomics data, Sophia Genetics can have a lab up and running on genetic analysis in less than a week, instead of months. The company’s genetic analysis tools can also be applied to any genetic disease including cancers, cystic fibrosis, and congenital heart conditions, to name but a few. The improved algorithms map to actionable clinical recommendations, giving healthcare practitioners the opportunity to access close to a 100% accurate interpretation of the patients’ genetic data. Today, the company is quickly accelerating its footprint, and there are 55 institutions and laboratories from across Europe and the United Kingdom working with Sophia Genetics.