In July, ReadSence, a contract genetic laboratory that is part of the Technospark Group of Companies, became the main laboratory within the OncoBRCA Russian fundamental project that studies the genetics of inherited cancers. The project has been supported by the National BioService, Russia’s first commercial research biobank.

OncoBRCA analyzes a wide range of inherited cancers: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, bowel cancer, endometrial cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, esophageal cancer and others. The specialized data bank is created on the basis of unique clinical samples characterized by the use of targeted sequencing methods. Depersonalized biomaterial for the OncoBRCA project is provided by over 50 Russian clinics. The project is coordinated by the staff of the Tatarstan Republican Oncology Center under the leadership of oncologist Marat Gordiev. Over 2000 samples have been collected since 2013.

The ReadSense contract laboratory prepares the obtained biological material and performs targeted sequencing of samples.

“Biological material undergoes the stages of DNA isolation, library synthesis and enrichment with target gene fragments associated with hereditary forms of cancer. Next, the samples  go through the next generation sequencing stage (NGS) using the Illumina platform. As a result, we get files of reading sequences of genome sections in question, which are analyzed using special algorithms of bioinformatic data processing. The result of DNA “decoding” is entered into the created database of clinically significant variants. The laboratory stage of the process takes about 7 days and requires involvement of highly qualified laboratory staff, as the quality of sample preparation and sequencing directly depends on the quality and completeness of the obtained study data,” said Gleb Speshilov, head of the ReadSense contract laboratory.

ReadSense decrypts more than 50 samples for OncoBRCA each week, and then the array of data is given to the customer.

The ReadSense contract laboratory specializes in complex contract works that entail targeted analysis of gene panels using high-capacity sequencing of 2nd and 3rd generations.