Global Genomics Group (G3) and Illumina are teaming up to investigate novel biomarkers and biological pathways involved in the development and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Per the agreement, Illumina will conduct whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in the GLOBAL (Genetic LOci and the Burden of Atherosclerotic Lesions) clinical study.
The GLOBAL study-;which was described by G3 CEO and co-founder Szilard Voros, M.D., as the first of its kind-;is an international, prospective, multicenter study recruiting up to 7,000 patients to characterize novel disease networks and biomarkers for coronary artery disease. The study is being funded by G3 and conducted together with a strategic partner, Health Diagnostic Laboratory. Eligible patients undergo coronary computed tomographic angiography, an advanced imaging technology for phenotyping that can allow the precise classification of disease in patients. This phenotyping is combined with a pan-omic analysis, and the data is then analyzed utilizing systems biology-based bioinformatics technology for identification of diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.
"The GLOBAL study will involve the collection of 22 trillion data points used to decode the complex biology underlying atherosclerotic disease," said Tonya Mallory, CEO, president, and co-founder of Health Diagnostic Laboratory, in a statement. "The study will represent validation of this technology and opens the door to similar analyses of other diseases, such as oncologic, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric, with the goal of identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of these serious and debilitating diseases."
Matt Posard, svp and general manager of Illumina's Translational and Consumer Genomics business, added, "The GLOBAL study will be one of the largest patient studies involving genomic sequencing and will be the largest pan-omic WGS study Illumina has participated in to date. The sequencing data will be a critical component in deciphering the complexities of the development and diagnosis of atherosclerosis."
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