Avance Biosciences licenses SeQure Dx's GUIDE-seq off-target NGS analysis technology

HOUSTON, March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Avance Biosciences (Avance), a leading CRO that provides GLP/CGMP-compliant biological testing services that aid drug development and manufacturing, announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with SeQure Dx, a cutting-edge gene-editing diagnostics company. This agreement gives Avance access to SeQure Dx's GUIDE-seq off-target next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis methods, allowing Avance to support its clients' CRISPR-based therapeutic programs by offering a comprehensive gene editing on/off-target analysis pipeline.

SeQure Dx's GUIDE-seq is an NGS-based method that assesses the efficacy of genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9. For many large pharma and biopharma companies, GUIDE-seq has become one of the most widely used methods to help characterize potential off-target events in their gene-editing therapeutics.

Avance provides comprehensive NGS services for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of gene editing profiles. Our CRISPR on/off-target analysis evaluates the potential off-target effects of single guide RNAs (sgRNAs), reducing the risk of unintended mutations. "We are excited to partner with SeQure Dx to provide our customers with access to this innovative NGS method," said Xuening Huang, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Avance. "We believe that this agreement will enable us to further expand our portfolio of NGS services that aid in the biological drug development process, especially for cell-based therapies utilizing CRISPR technologies."

About SeQure Dx

SeQure Dx was founded on the ONE-seq technology discovered and developed by the Joung Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  SeQure Dx's platform comprises the only scalable, population-based and editing technology-agnostic in vitro off-target evaluation method complemented by orthogonal methods required for off-target risk nomination as well as a portfolio of confirmation products to address the industry's off-target unmet need.

SeQure Dx's core mission is to leverage its cutting-edge platform to partner with biopharma in a way that allows the gene editing developers to solely focus on the advancement of their programs and outsource the entirety of the off-target evaluation workstream to SeQure Dx. SeQure Dx's offerings span the drug development lifecycle, providing value for its partners preclinically, during clinical development and throughout future commercialization via rigorous IND-enabling data package(s), ensuring patient safety from a trial enrollment and follow-up perspective, and clinical decision support and long-term safety monitoring, respectively. To learn more, visit sequre-dx.com

About Avance Biosciences

Avance Biosciences is a world-leading CRO specializing in biological assays that support the biopharma industry from discovery through manufacturing. With many years of experience in assay design, assay validation, and sample testing in compliance with GLP and GMP regulations, Avance supports many clients' gene and cell therapeutic pipelines through biological drug discovery, PK and preclinical safety studies, clinical trials, and CMCs to produce biologics.

Avance was founded by a group of industry veterans in 2011 and has rapidly grown to become a prominent CRO partner in the biopharma cell and gene therapy sector. Avance was one of the first companies to use next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) technologies in a regulated environment. To learn more, visit avancebio.com.

Contact

Cal Froberg
[email protected] 
9770 West Little York Road
Houston, TX 77040 USA

SOURCE Avance Biosciences