Source BioScience opens DNA facility at London's UCL

Source BioScience has opened a new DNA sequencing and genotyping facility based at University College London (UCL).

The company will, in collaboration with the UCL Genetics Institute (UGI), offer DNA sequencing and genotyping services from its new laboratory facility located in the prestigious UCL Cancer Institute.

Source BioScience has established a network of DNA sequencing and genotyping facilities in the UK. These facilities are based around a central reference laboratory hub in Nottingham with satellite operations in Cambridge and Oxford University.

The company will provide infrastructure and technology platforms in addition to employing technical staff and expertise to operate the facility, with further support available from its main laboratory in Nottingham. This facility enables Source BioScience to expand its service offering across the South East.

Under an agreement with UGI, Source BioScience will offer Geneservice DNA sequencing and genotyping services to customers within UCL for an initial period of three years. The company will also provide UCL customers access to other services through the new facility, including access to its next generation DNA sequencing and genotyping platforms.

Dr Nick Ash, md of Source BioScience said: "˜We are particularly looking forward to combining our expertise as a leading provider of diagnostic healthcare services with the research programmes being undertaken by UGI and across UCL.'

UCL has recently partnered with four other medical research centres to create a £2 bn (€2.4bn) research cluster, becoming Europe's largest Academic Health Science Centre.

UGI has been established to create at UCL a world-leading centre that will develop and apply biostatistical and bioinformatics approaches to clinical and human population genetics. UGI will create a body of between 75 to 100 scientists within the next five years and will provide the focal point of strategic development for human genetics at UCL.

Prof Steve Humphries, director of UGI said "A key step in achieving the vision for the development of Genetics at UCL was the establishment of a commercial collaboration to service the existing sequencing and genotyping needs within UCL, while also providing access to next generation technologies to accommodate future service needs.