Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner to Advance Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

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Collaboration to leverage Oxford Nanopore's sequencing platform and Cepheid's GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases

OXFORD, United Kingdom and SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies, and Cepheid, a leading molecular diagnostics company, today announced a strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize a seamless end-to-end workflow that combines Cepheid's GeneXpert system for pre-sequencing sample and library preparation with Oxford Nanopore's rapid, information-rich molecular analysis platform.

The two companies have completed a successful proof-of-concept study which demonstrated the feasibility of using Cepheid's cartridge-based GeneXpert system for sample and library preparation in a workflow with Oxford Nanopore's sequencing platform. The positive results from the proof-of-concept have paved the way for the strategic collaboration to develop and launch a joint Research Use Only¹ (RUO) workflow that will enable customers to leverage rapid, information-rich sequencing in-house for infectious disease analysis, returning results within hours instead of days.

The initial application of the workflow will focus on infectious disease, specifically the profiling of bacterial and fungal pathogens with whole genome sequencing first from culture isolates and eventually directly from positive blood cultures. The collaboration has the potential to expand from this initial application into additional infectious disease use cases, other areas such as cancer and human genetics, and eventually regulatory approved clinical diagnostics.

"Combining the ease-of-use of the GeneXpert system, the most widely placed PCR diagnostic instrument world-wide, with Oxford Nanopore's unique sequencing platform, unlocks a richness of biomarker data that has historically been technically challenging for many labs to access," said Vitor Rocha, President of Cepheid. "Providing an integrated solution to more effectively characterize infectious diseases, understand the epidemiology of bacterial outbreaks, and profile antimicrobial resistance will meaningfully accelerate our mission of expanding access to critical molecular information. The potential for future expansion of this technology to applications for patient care is exciting."

The collaboration is intended to deliver a scalable, automated, end-to-end solution for simplified nanopore sequencing workflows for use within a range of settings, including labs that have previously not had the expertise to conduct sequencing in-house.

"This collaboration represents an important step forward in delivering new and improved workflow options to better understand infectious diseases," said Dr. Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore Technologies. "By partnering to integrate our richer data, rapid insights, and accessible and affordable sequencing technology with Cepheid's GeneXpert architecture, we are establishing a workflow foundation that is positioned for future expansion into scaled routine clinical use."

The joint workflow will be compatible with a range of third-party informatics tools including Oxford Nanopore's EPI2ME, and other informatic solutions that are part of Oxford Nanopore's compatible provider network. Cepheid will also complement the joint workflow by directly offering an informatics solution, which they will commercialize by way of a license from a leading industry player; this informatics platform provides comprehensive pathogen identification, comprehensive antimicrobial resistance gene detection, SNP-based clonality for outbreak tracking and surveillance, and AI-driven genotypic antimicrobial susceptibility predictions.

¹For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures

About Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Oxford Nanopore Technologies' goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The first application is DNA/RNA sequencing and the technology is in development for the analysis of other types of molecule including proteins. The technology is used in more than 125 countries to understand and characterise the biology of humans and diseases such as cancer, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, and whole environments. Oxford Nanopore Technologies products are intended for molecular biology applications and are not intended for diagnostic purposes. For more, visit: https://nanoporetech.com/

About Cepheid

Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Cepheid is a leading molecular diagnostics company that is an operating company within Danaher Corporation's Diagnostics platform. Cepheid is dedicated to improving healthcare by developing, manufacturing, and marketing accurate yet easy-to-use molecular systems and tests. By automating highly complex and time-consuming manual procedures, the company's solutions deliver a better way for institutions of any size to perform sophisticated genetic testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where accurate, rapid, and actionable test results are needed most, such as managing infectious diseases and cancer. For more information, visit http://www.cepheid.com.

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