OGT makes market-leading NGS coverage and expertise more accessible

Oxford, UK – 13 June 2019. OGT, A Sysmex Group Company, has expanded its SureSeq™ portfolio with a complete library preparation solution for hybridisation-based target capture in NGS, making its market-leading coverage uniformity and expertise even more accessible. As well as updating and refining the library preparation workflow—including the addition of automation support—OGT’s SureSeq NGS Library Preparation Kit now includes a new, ready-to-use hybridisation and wash buffer that further simplifies this key step.

NGS is increasingly employed as a central technology in scientific and medical research, and as such, NGS data quality is of the utmost importance. Library preparation for targeted sequencing can be performed using either hybridisation or amplicon technology. While amplicon methods are often faster, it is widely accepted that hybridisation produces superior data quality, with exceptional depth and coverage uniformity and the ability to sequence accurately more challenging regions of the genome.

OGT is a specialist in hybridisation, reflected in its portfolio and its history—the company was founded by Professor Sir Edwin Southern—and its unique expertise and experience is unrivalled in the market. With this expertise, the company has been able to transform hybridisation for NGS, successfully streamlining the library preparation protocol with reduced manual handling and a rapid hybridisation step that delivers increased reliability as well as throughput. With hybridisation times now down to as little as 30 minutes, SureSeq provides easy access to all of the benefits of hybridisation while breaking down the barriers to its implementation - enabling scientists to get from sample to sequencer in just one day.

As well as refining the workflow with fewer handling steps, fragmentation and concentration steps can, if desired, now be performed without capital equipment expenditure, while still delivering libraries of the highest quality. In addition, the company has developed an automation workflow, further reducing manual handling and saving precious time.

John Anson, CEO of OGT commented, ‘With this expansion of our SureSeq portfolio, we have further broken down the barriers for hybridisation in NGS, making it quicker, easier and more flexible, while also delivering enormous benefits to researchers in terms of data quality. OGT has a reputation for quality and expertise and together with Sysmex we see NGS as a key future technology. As part of a large, global IVD company, we are exploring many exciting possibilities and it is our aim that future development plans in this area will be transformative for our customers.’

OGT’s SureSeq NGS portfolio includes targeted panels, library preparation kits and a powerful software package, all optimised to deliver the highest quality, trustworthy results every time.

About OGT

OGT, a Sysmex Group company, is a leading global provider of clinical and diagnostic genomic solutions that are created for scientists by scientists - including CytoCell^®, CytoSure^® and SureSeq™ ranges of FISH, microarray and NGS products. The company is dedicated to creating products that enable researchers and clinical decision makers to reach the right care decisions for each patient, every time. OGT strives to unlock the future of genetic clinical care with a commitment to working in partnership with its customers - not only by sharing its expertise of 25 years at the forefront of genetic endeavour, but also by working closely with scientists to understand their unique challenges, and to customise its approach to meet their exact needs. Dedicated to improving clinical care, OGT believes that through partnership—together—we’ll achieve more.

For more information on the Company, please visit our website at ogt.com

CytoSure^®, SureSeq™ and myProbes^®: For Research Use Only, not for use in diagnostic procedures. CytoCell: Some products may not be available in your region.

About Sysmex Corporation

Sysmex Corporation is a world leader in clinical laboratory systemization and solutions, including laboratory diagnostics, laboratory automation and clinical information systems. Serving customers for more than 50 years, Sysmex focuses on technological leadership in diagnostic science and information tools that make a difference in the health of people worldwide. The company is also exploring emerging opportunities in the life science field. Its R&D efforts focus on the development of high-value-added testing and diagnostic technologies that are innovative, original and optimize individual health. Sysmex also seeks to leverage its state-of-the-art technologies for cell, gene and protein analysis. The company, headquartered in Kobe, Japan, has subsidiaries in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China and Asia Pacific and employs more than 9,000 employees worldwide. Sysmex Corporation is listed in the top tier of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

For more information about Sysmex Corporation and its affiliate companies, please visit www.sysmex.co.jp/en/.