DDN and Parabricks announce integrated technology solution that accelerates genome analysis

May 16 2018

DDN Storage (DDN^®) and Parabricks today announced the availability of a jointly-integrated technology solution that provides massive acceleration for analysis of human genomes. The breakthrough platform combines GPU supercomputing performance with DDN's Parallel Flash Data Platforms for fastest time to results, and enables unprecedented capabilities for high-throughput genomics analysis pipelines. The joint solution also ensures full saturation of GPUs for maximum efficiency and provides analysis capabilities that previously required thousands of CPUs to engage. This solution is currently being showcased alongside a supporting white paper at the Bio-IT World show in Boston.

Time to results is critical for genome sequencing centers, which require innovative, boundary-pushing technology solutions. High production environments with many sequencers need high throughput analysis solutions that can keep pace with the rapid changes in research. The new GPU and storage solution can analyze 1,500 genomes a week, accelerating precision medicine workflows by 100x. This capability is significant for centers pushing the usage of genome sequencing in clinical applications, where the ability to achieve faster results is often a life or death imperative.

The combination of DDN's high-performance Parallel Flash Data Platforms and Parabricks' DNA Bricks application delivers a unified genomics analysis infrastructure that provides performance, simplicity and flexibility for end users. For example, this solution can take an industry standard pipeline, like GATK4, and shrink run time from more than 30 hours down to mere minutes. Additionally, the highly-scalable architecture of the solution provides seamless expansion of throughput, capacity and capabilities as workflows evolve. The solution is tightly integrated and optimized to provide fast and deterministic results from the advanced Parabricks' algorithms, ensuring the highest integrity for genomics pipelines.

"When customers deploy our powerful analytics solution on top of DDN storage platforms they will be able to provide maximum value of their system investment with unified, scalable systems," said Mehrzad Samadi, CEO, Parabricks.

"DDN has extensive experience in supporting critical workflows in life sciences, and we are happy to be able to bring yet another innovative solution that pushes performance boundaries for customers," said James Coomer, vice president of products, DDN. "Our partnership with Parabricks enables users to execute game-changing research with our world-class solutions and joint commitment to innovation."