Hartwig and Ultima Genomics Collaborate to Reduce Costs for Whole Genome Cancer Profiling, Minimal Residual Disease Testing and Generating Genetic Data at Scale

Hartwig Medical Foundation, a pioneer in deploying complete genomic profiling to improve oncology outcomes, and Ultima Genomics, a developer of a revolutionary new ultra-high throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) architecture, today announced the deployment of Ultima’s UG 100 sequencing system and its proprietary ppmSeq technology for improving precision oncology testing and research. This collaboration aims to reduce test costs and make complete genome-based cancer diagnostics accessible for more patients to have better informed cancer treatment. In parallel, platform strengths will be explored for minimal residual disease detection in blood of cancer patients with a one-size-fits-all solution that builds on pre-existing complete tumor profile information.

Despite significant advancements in cancer diagnosis and treatment enabled by next-generation sequencing technology, the relatively high costs of existing sequencing technologies limit the depth, breadth, and frequency of sequencing use in cancer testing, especially for whole genome sequencing-based approaches. In February 2024, Ultima launched its first commercial system, the UG 100^TM, which deploys a novel sequencing architecture that provides significantly lower-cost sequencing compared to conventional technologies. The Company also launched ppmSeq^TM, a unique technology native to the UG 100^TM platform that enables ultra-high part-per-million accuracy, or Q60, for calling single nucleotide variants (SNVs). Low-cost sequencing, combined with high throughput data generation and ultra-high accuracy for SNVs, has the potential to revolutionize oncology treatment by increasing test accessibility and enabling more frequent monitoring to assist treatment escalation and de-escalation. Hartwig plans to leverage the unique advantages of the UG 100^TM and ppmSeq^TM technology to perform whole genome tumor and germline profiling and minimal residual disease (MRD) testing in routine diagnostic procedures together with partner hospitals. Data from consented patients will be added to the existing resource of >7,000 samples in the current database and made available for scientific research to improve care for tomorrow’s cancer patients.

“Collaborating with Hartwig to deploy our technology toward whole genome cancer profiling, MRD testing and generating genomic information at scale is an exciting milestone,” said Gilad Almogy, CEO of Ultima Genomics. “Hartwig has been an industry pioneer who has successfully demonstrated the power of genetic data and more comprehensive genetic analysis to improve outcomes in oncology. We built our platform to specifically relieve the constraints that large testing leaders like Hartwig have in how they deploy NGS technology across the continuum of care. The combination of low cost, extreme depth and breadth, and ppmSeq^TM for ultra-sensitive SNV detection can be transformational for oncology testing applications. We hope to enable our customers to perform more comprehensive analyses, detect disease at earlier stages, and provide efficient solutions for disease and therapy response monitoring.”

"Ultima’s dramatically different approach and its potential is exciting for our industry,” said Edwin Cuppen, scientific director at Hartwig. “Access to lower cost sequencing will relieve significant constraints labs have for providing patients access to more comprehensive genetic testing across the continuum of oncology care. Furthermore, lower costs can enable Hartwig to affordably create genetic datasets at national population scale to improve cancer research and ultimately outcomes for future patients. In addition to benefiting from the lower sequencing costs of the UG 100^TM, we will explore the potential of Ultima’s ppmSeq^TM technology, which represents a significant breakthrough for applications requiring extreme SNV accuracy like MRD and therapy response monitoring. We look forward to collaborating with Ultima and being a leading pioneer of this technology in Europe to improve testing for oncology patients.”

About Hartwig

Established in 2015 as a nonprofit organisation, Hartwig Medical Foundation’s mission is to promote scientific research in the fight against and treatment of cancer, in the broadest sense and provided it is in the public interest. Hartwig believes that personalized treatment of cancer patients is only possible if all relevant diagnostic information about the patient and their tumor is available at the start of the treatment process. Through systematic and comprehensive DNA analysis for cancer patients in the Netherlands and linking the genetic data to treatment and treatment outcome data, Hartwig has created the Hartwig Medical Database, the largest database in the world of WGS-generated genetic and clinical data of metastatic cancer patients.

About Ultima Genomics

Ultima Genomics is unleashing the power of genomics at scale. The Company's mission is to continuously drive the scale of genomic information to enable unprecedented advances in biology and improvements in human health. With humanity on the cusp of a biological revolution, there is a virtually endless need for more genomic information to address biology's complexity and dynamic change—and a further need to challenge conventional next-generation sequencing technologies. Ultima's revolutionary new sequencing architecture drives down the costs of sequencing to help overcome the tradeoffs that scientists and clinicians are forced to make between the breadth, depth and frequency with which they use genomic information. The new sequencing architecture was designed to scale far beyond conventional sequencing technologies, lower the cost of genomic information and catalyze the next phase of genomics in the 21st century. To learn more, visit ultimagenomics.com.

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