Rubicon's ThruPLEX® Plasma-seq, Now Available For Use With Biomek® Automation Workstation, Is The First Automated NGS Prep Kit For Liquid Biopsies

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/-- Rubicon Genomics, Inc., today announced that its ThruPLEX^® Plasma-seq kit that prepares DNA libraries for the analysis of cell-free DNA circulating in plasma is now automated on Beckman Coulter's Biomek FX^P Liquid Handling Workstation, a leading automated solution for laboratories worldwide.

ThruPLEX Plasma-seq's single tube workflow is easily transferred to the Biomek FX^P Workstation to enable high-throughput automated preparation of Illumina^® next-generation sequencing (NGS) libraries of cell-free DNA for liquid biopsies. Liquid biopsies can eliminate the need for invasive and costly tissue biopsies to detect biomarkers and other genetic mutations in tumors and are expected to transform cancer screening, diagnostics and treatment. In pregnancy testing (NIPT), plasma-based DNA analyses can identify aneuploidies and have the potential to eliminate amniocentesis.

"The combination of our ThruPLEX Plasma-seq kit with the Biomek Automation Workstation is the first to enable automated preparation of libraries for next-generation sequencing of cell-free DNA for use in oncology and NIPT," said Rubicon CEO James Koziarz, PhD. "Automated laboratory solutions are essential to achieve widespread adoption of genomics-based personalized and precision medicine, and we are delighted to collaborate with Beckman Coulter to make our ThruPLEX Plasma-seq kits available on the Biomek FX^P, a leading laboratory automation tool used worldwide."

The Biomek FX^P Workstation, a proven tool for automated NGS sample prep, enables higher throughput and efficiency for processing these precious samples at even the lowest input amounts. The ready-to-run method creates up to 96 dual-barcoded libraries in about 3.5 hours that are compatible with Illumina NGS platforms. Automating ThruPLEX Plasma-seq reduces costly handling errors and potential sample loss while increasing reproducibility and, therefore, user confidence in sample quality.

ThruPLEX Plasma-seq produces highly reproducible NGS libraries from less than 1 ng up to 30 ng of cell-free DNA in plasma. The optimized repair and ligation chemistries and a modified protocol provide higher library diversity at low input amounts and broad and consistent GC (guanine-cytosine) coverage. ThruPLEX Plasma-seq libraries are suitable for whole genome, whole exome and targeted gene sequencing. The performance of the ThruPLEX Plasma-seq kit has been validated by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) in Cambridge, UK. 

Protocols for the use of ThruPLEX Plasma-seq on the FX^P Workstation can be obtained by contacting Alisa Jackson, Senior Marketing Manager, Automated Genomic Applications for Beckman Coulter, Sample Prep division, or Jamie Wibbenmeyer, Vice President Business Development, Rubicon Genomics.

Rubicon scientists will join Beckman Coulter representatives to discuss ThruPLEX Plasma-seq and the Biomek FX^p Workstation at Booth 925 at the 2015 American Society for Human Genetics meeting in Baltimore, MD, on October 8, 2015. For more information, visit http://www.ashg.org/2015meeting/.  Rubicon representatives will be available to discuss ThruPLEX Plasma-seq at the SELECTBIO session on Personalised Medicine at Biotechnica 2015 in Hannover, Germany on October 7-8, 2015. For more information, visit http://selectbiosciences.com/conferences/index.aspx?conf=PMIC2015.

About Beckman Coulter Life Sciences
Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is dedicated to improving the health of people around the world. The company's global leadership and world-class service and support delivers sophisticated instrument systems, reagents and services to life science researchers in academic and commercial laboratories, enabling new discoveries in biology-based research and development. A leader in automation, centrifugation and flow cytometry, Beckman Coulter has long been an innovator in capillary electrophoresis, particle characterization and laboratory automation, and its products are used at the forefront of important areas of investigation, including genomics and proteomics. For more information, please visit www.BeckmanCoulter.com. Follow Beckman Coulter Life Sciences on Twitter @BCILifeSciences and LinkedIn.

About Rubicon Genomics 
Rubicon Genomics develops innovative, high quality, nucleic acid library preparation and companion products that enable easy, reliable, and highly sensitive analysis of clinical samples for research and diagnostics. Rubicon is committed to teamwork and continuous improvement to provide excellence to our customers, shareholders, and employees. Privately-held Rubicon is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For more information, visit rubicongenomics.com.

SOURCE Rubicon Genomics, Inc.

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