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ATLAS Biolabs certified for innovative exome enrichment technology from Roche NimbleGen

Berlin, March 29, 2011 – ATLAS Biolabs GmbH has become the second service provider in Europe to be certified for SeqCap EZ Exome and SeqCap EZ Choice enrichment technology from Roche NimbleGen. The new technology allows the targeted enrichment and subsequent sequencing of the human exome, i.e. of all genomic DNA sequences that carry the genetic blueprint encoding the body-s proteins. ATLAS Biolabs is thus expanding its range of services in the field of DNA enrichment. Only recently, the company became an official Certified Service Provider (CSP) for array-based NimbleGen Sequence Capture and is also the only European service provider to offer RainDance technology for DNA enrichment by microdroplet PCR.

Selective enrichment and sequencing of the human exome is currently the most advanced way of identifying disease-causing mutations in both Mendelian genetic diseases and complex diseases where multiple genes are involved. “With the SeqCap EZ Exome method we can capture the entire exome in a single batch,” said Professor Peter Nürnberg, Chief Executive Officer of ATLAS Biolabs. “The method is very easy to apply and extremely reliable. It also reduces the costs that would arise if we had to sequence a person-s whole genome to find disease-relevant mutations.” The new technique makes it possible to search for rare genomic variants and prove them statistically. This opens up completely new perspectives for the detection of genetic factors in complex diseases. “Roche NimbleGen welcomes ATLAS Biolabs as the first certified service provider for SeqCap EZ in Germany,” said Dr. Frank Pitzer, CEO of Roche NimbleGen, Inc. “Researchers throughout the world have adopted SeqCap EZ as their target enrichment technology of choice due to its performance and scalability. We are excited to extend the high performance capabilities of SeqCap EZ Exome and SeqCap EZ Choice to the genomic community in Germany through ATLAS Biolabs.” If you would like to know more about the new technology, you might like to attend one of three workshops that are being organized jointly by ATLAS Biolabs and Roche NimbleGen on April 5 to 7, 2011 in Cologne, Berlin, and Leipzig. The program will include presentations on the latest developments in the field of DNA sequencing and will outline successful projects in this field.