New clinical genomics company launches

Boston Children’s Hospital has partnered with Life Technologies Corporation to launch Claritas Genomics, a company formed to develop next-generation genetic and genomics-based diagnostic testing solutions. The venture combines advanced instrumentation, software and bioinformatics capabilities with sophisticated clinical interpretation of test results and consultation by specialist physicians and medical genomics experts at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Claritas Genomics, majority-owned by Children’s, will incorporate the expertise, assets and personnel of the hospital’s Genetic Diagnostic Lab, a CLIA-certified centre that already offers more than 100 genetic tests, including many specialised diagnostics developed at Boston Children’s. It will leverage Life Technologies’ Ion Proton Sequencer, a fast, accurate, benchtop technology that can readily be scaled for mass application for new tests that the company plans to develop.

“While a number of academic and private ventures are offering genomic sequencing and molecular diagnostics to the public, no other partnership has integrated all the elements - fast, accurate genomic sequencing, bioinformatics, CLIA expertise and access to researchers and clinicians who can interpret the data in a meaningful way,” said Sandra Fenwick, president and chief operating officer of Boston Children’s. “We want to advance the standard of care, create a seamless experience and extend it to children and adults across the US and around the world.”

“Our investment in Claritas Genomics is a prime example of strategic partnerships Life Technologies is entering into to accelerate the use of accurate genomic information in medical practice,” said Greg Lucier, chairman and chief executive officer of Life Technologies. “This new venture serves as a model for future endeavours to demonstrate the validation of our Ion Torrent technology in an integrated laboratory workflow designed for clinical applications related to paediatrics and inherited diseases.”

Claritas Genomics will seek to validate the Ion Proton Sequencer’s clinical utility and tests developed on the platform for clinical use. For Boston Children’s Hospital, the formation of the company is a strategic opportunity to assure its physicians and scientists access to best-in-world genomic science and to share its expertise in genomic interpretation widely.

“Boston Children’s has already invested significantly to accelerate genomic discovery for patients with rare diseases, cancer and autism, and to profile individual responses to medications. We now have a practical paradigm for taking genetic and genomic research discoveries to the bedside, and we’re excited to be able to scale up and offer this capability to patients everywhere,” said Dr David Margulies, executive director of the Gene Partnership at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Through a set of network collaborations and via electronic communications, we plan to provide interpretive services around the world.”

The company is developing relationships with other US and international children’s hospitals to create a network of top-tier paediatric academic centres that can share data, especially important for rare diseases that require large numbers of patients to discover genetic markers.