Westbury, NY – Dec. 16, 2019 – BioIVT, a leading provider of research models and services for drug and diagnostic development, today launched its Next-generation Sequencing (NGS) Service, which combines the company’s expertise in human tissue procurement, specimen selection, sample preparation and project management with its in-house NGS capabilities. BioIVT now offers both standard and custom NGS services, including sample extraction, library preparation, sequencing and bioinformatics.

“We are excited to launch our NGS Service to support researchers investigating the human genome to determine the mutations contributing to specific diseases. We are proud to play our part in utilizing this powerful technology to make these important mutation annotated specimens more accessible to the medical research community,” said BioIVT Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Gatz.

“Our new NGS Service brings together expertise from across BioIVT, including biospecimen procurement, project design, project management, library prep, sequencing and data analysis. This service also builds upon our acquisition of Asterand Biosciences with our clients having immediate access to hundreds of thousands of banked specimens. We are also constantly increasing our bank through our clinical network with samples procured following industry best practices and meeting our ASTERAND® human tissue standards,” said Mr. Gatz.

“In keeping with BioIVT’s high quality standards, we also ensure that every one of our tissue blocks is reviewed by a board-certified pathologist before it is included in an NGS study. This process ensures that every block features the required tissue. We also supply all our specimens with pertinent clinical data and full regulatory approval,” added Shannon Richey, BioIVT Vice President and General Manager, Detroit Operations.

NGS Service

BioIVT experts are involved in all aspects of the project, starting with determining the mutations of interest and their incidence in the general population and in BioIVT-specific results (if known). The team can also assist with independent validation or verification of an existing assay or with exploratory work.

Once the target cohort has been identified, BioIVT can supply the required samples either from existing inventory or via a custom procurement process.

The BioIVT team has more than seven years of hands-on library preparation and sample analysis experience and can employ NGS, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Sanger/pyrosequencing, and immunohistochemistry-based solutions to analyze the mutations.

Depending on the project requirements, BioIVT can either provide the final data analysis or the required tissue in a fit-for-purpose format, such as slides, curls or blocks, ready for further study by the client’s research team.

For cancer research, BioIVT has both formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) and frozen tumor specimens with known mutation statuses (both mutation positive and wild-type) available and ready to ship. Associated serum and plasma may also be available for these specimens.

BioIVT continues to evolve its mix of services and technologies so that it can be the best research partner possible for its clients as they develop new drugs and diagnostics to advance healthcare.