Kuwait's Genatak, a leading center for genomic medicine in the Middle East, has partnered with US-based Tute Genomics, a leader in clinical sequencing informatics, to make big data genomics accessible to clinical labs throughout Middle East.

Genatak recently deployed Tute Genomics' cloud-based platform to advance and scale the center's genetic diagnostic service, and now plans to make the platform available directly to other clinical laboratories and hospitals throughout the Middle East.

"Exome and whole genome sequence data have always been considered formidable bottlenecks for any diagnostic or research laboratory," said Fahd Al-Mulla, director of Genatak-Global Medical Clinic.

"While generating data seems straightforward, sieving through and interpreting the thousands and millions of variants from exomes and genomes, respectively, is not an easy task.

“The scarcity of bioinformatic experts, especially in the Middle East, as well as the rapidly changing nature of the required analysis, the lack of properly curated variation databases and the anxiety of clinicians in handling big data are major obstacles hindering the successful implementation of genomic medicine in clinical practice. Genatak continues to invest heavily in state-of-the-art technology and people ensuring clinicians are able to offer their patients the most current evidence-based medicine and therapeutics,” he added.

"Offering pertinent informatics locally has significant advantages," continued Prof. Al-Mulla. "Usually a successful clinical diagnosis requires a team approach which can mean regular meetings for discussions regarding cases and opinions.”

“This vital interaction is usually lost when reports are static and made distally to the diagnostic center.
“Through our collaboration with Tute Genomics, we now have the capacity to manage and report on an exceptional number of whole genomes and exomes every day; and, more importantly, our clinical customers can access these simplified data seamlessly through their electronic health records,” he added.

The Tute Genomics Platform empowers molecular laboratories, clinicians, and other frontline health care providers to rapidly process, interpret, and generate clinical reports on large volumes of genomic sequence data. Since the technology was publicly launched at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in November of 2013, it has gained international adoption among translational research and clinical organizations.

"It's thrilling to see how genomics is impacting healthcare, not just in the US, but throughout the world," stated Reid Robison, co-founder of Tute Genomics. "To be part of such a global revolution is an incredible honour. We're excited to partner with Prof. Al-Mulla and Genatak to advance genomic medicine in the Middle East."

Prof Al-Mulla concluded: "Bioinformatics challenges are magnified several fold when it comes to implementing genomic medicine in the Middle East, because Arab-Middle East specific variants are nowhere to be found in major databases. Compared to other pipelines we designed in-house or have previously tested, the Tute Genomics pipeline is truly a trustworthy, credible and accessible platform." – TradeArabia News Service