WuXi's NextCODE in Fudan University-led China clinical genomics effort

WuXi CEO Ge Li

WuXi AppTec's ($WX) NextCODE human genomics database system announced an enterprise partnership with a Fudan University-led effort of Chinese academic bodies researching genetics and developmental biology.

China's Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development (CICGD) was set up in 2012 with the backing of China's Higher Education Institution Innovation Improvement Plan to understand the interplay of genetics and human health.

NextCODE will work with Chinese research institutions, including Shanghai Jiaotong University, Nanjing University, Zhongshan University, Central South University, the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, and the Beijing Institute of Genomics, according to a press release.

The NextCODE system is aimed at research with clinical applications for genomic medicine, from CLIA sequencing to bioinformatics, clinical interpretation, and diagnostic test development and delivery, according to WuXi.

The company said the NextCODE technology is now used in analyzing and managing whole-genome data on 350,000 people, "more than any other system in use today."

"The partnership will empower CICGD scientists to perform gene sequencing and bioinformatics analysis with unparalleled speed and precision, thereby accelerating research, clinical diagnosis, and treatment of rare inherited diseases and malignant tumors," WuXi said in the press release.

- here's the release