Illumina, GenoScreen launch next-generation sequencing innovation to eliminate TB
The combined use of the GenoScreen Deeplex Myc-TB assay and the Illumina NGS platforms allows much more rapid determination of extensive drug resistance profiles and TB strain types
Illumina, a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, and GenoScreen, an innovative genomics company, have launched a package combining Illumina products and the GenoScreen Deeplex Myc-TB assay, a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) based test for the rapid and extensive detection of anti-TB drug resistance. This will help advance the World Health Organization’s (WHO) strategy to end the global TB epidemic by 2035.
The latest in NGS innovation is part of a partnership between Illumina and Genoscreen announced last year to accelerate progress to end TB worldwide. The partnership is expanding capabilities for countries most impacted by tuberculosis, including India, to more effectively detect and combat multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).
“Through our partnership, we will enable lower-income countries to confront the pervasive threat of TB and work toward eliminating it,” said Phil Febbo, chief medical officer of Illumina. “The COVID-19 pandemic response led to expanded NGS capacity around the world, so now institutions have the platforms needed to support testing for TB drug resistance and improve survival for patients with TB, the leading infectious disease killer before COVID.”
“As a world specialist in TB genomic solutions, we envision this partnership with Illumina as an accelerator for the global deployment of our Deeplex Myc-TB assay, especially for countries with the highest needs,” said André Tordeux, CEO, GenoScreen.
Standard culture-based testing methods currently incur turnaround times of up to two months, and conventional molecular assays are limited in identifying drug resistance. The combined use of the GenoScreen Deeplex Myc-TB assay and the Illumina NGS platforms allows much more rapid determination of extensive drug resistance profiles and TB strain types.
The Deeplex Myc-TB assay, developed and produced by GenoScreen since 2019, uses a culture-free approach to identify TB mycobacteria and more than 100 non-TB mycobacterial species, and to predict resistance to 15 antibiotics, in 24 to 48 hours—directly from primary respiratory samples. The Deeplex web application for automated analysis of the sequencing data enables users to easily interpret the results and best define the next steps.
“The Deeplex Myc-TB kit is the most comprehensive commercial molecular test for detection of anti-TB-drug resistance available to date,” said Philip Supply, research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. “We are continually updating the technology to detect emerging resistance to the newest anti-TB drugs.”
Implementing NGS testing will also benefit national TB programs around the world by providing critical surveillance data about resistance to different anti-TB drugs—important information for high-burden countries to guide TB control strategies.
