For Kees van den Berg, the CEO of GenomeScan, the collaboration between his organization and the Hartwig Medical Foundation is essential to elevate molecular diagnostics to the next level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the laboratories of academic hospitals began using sequencing for molecular diagnostics, much has changed. “Molecular diagnostics in general has grown rapidly over the years,” says Kees van den Berg, “not only technologically, but also in the number and types of procedures.” This is why GenomeScan started offering this as a service provider for hospitals. “The facility we have developed for this enables us to do this faster, better, and more affordably, with three university medical centers (UMCs) as shareholders. Hospitals often struggle to optimally utilize all those expensive sequencing machines, but thanks to the scale we\u2019ve created, we can.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
GenomeScan\u2019s specialization in Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is a logical step, he explains. \u201cYou can read half a book or the whole thing,\u201d he says, \u201cand the same applies to DNA. The only reason why WGS was not used more widely before was because the WGS test was too expensive. However, it is now clear that this will become the leading test\u2014sooner in clinical genetics than in oncology, but eventually certainly there as well.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kees van den Berg, CEO GenomeScan<\/p>\u201cYou can read half a book or the whole thing and the same applies to DNA.” <\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Fruitful collaboration<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Van den Berg emphasizes the enormous importance of the collaboration between GenomeScan and Hartwig Medical Foundation. “We are both not-for-profit organizations that make our knowledge and expertise available to healthcare,” he explains. “Hartwig Medical Foundation has developed an excellent test and used it to build a database for characterizing oncological conditions. And they have set up a pipeline for WGS and other tests which are highly valuable for this purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kees van den Berg, CEO GenomeScan<\/p>The collaboration between GenomeScan and Hartwig Medical Foundation is enormously important”<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe started around the same time\u2014they with a test that was not yet reimbursed, and we with one that was. Now we’re working together to improve molecular diagnostics. The tests themselves are crucial, but even more important is storing data and making it available for scientific research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur focus is on production, clinical genetics operations, and proving feasibility, while Hartwig Medical Foundation has a streamlined analysis pipeline and a valuable database. So, we’re bringing together two unique areas of expertise by working together. We aim to make WGS more accessible for faster and better diagnostics and, consequently, more effective treatment.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n A step forward in development<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Van den Berg sees a major development in WGS through the transition from short-read sequencing, currently the standard, to long-read sequencing. “This will play an important role in molecular diagnostics because it will allow us to detect disorders that cannot be identified with short-read sequencing. Structural variations in genomes are much easier to determine using long-read sequencing, enabling diagnostics for conditions that would otherwise go undetected.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kees van den Berg, CEO GenomeScan<\/p>“We’re working together to improve molecular diagnostics. The tests themselves are crucial, but even more important is storing data and making it available for scientific research”.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The technology behind long-read sequencing has existed for over a decade. \u201cOver time, it has improved significantly, becoming faster and more cost-effective,\u201d says Van den Berg. \u201cThis means that this sequencing technology can now be more widely implemented in laboratories. Its development is still primarily taking place within clinical genetics. But experience is also being gained with brain tumor surgeries where long-read sequencing is used to determine the type of tumor as a basis for deciding how much tissue needs to be removed. So, it will also be used in oncological care.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pharmacogenetics<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, how does Van den Berg view the developments in pharmacogenetics? “Everyone knows the stories about complications and hospitalizations due to incorrect medication use,” he says. “I would like to see the UMCs take the lead in making bioinformatics analyses a standard part of WGS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kees van den Berg, CEO GenomeScan<\/p>“For us, pharmacogenetics is one of our focus areas. Here too, our collaboration with Hartwig Medical Foundation is important for us.”<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Right now, these efforts are still fragmented. Good tests are already available in this area, but a step still needs to be taken in reimbursement. For us, in addition to clinical genetics and oncology, it is one of our focus areas. Here too, our collaboration with Hartwig Medical Foundation is important for us.”\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Kees van den Berg, the CEO of GenomeScan, the collaboration between his organization and the Hartwig Medical Foundation is …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,85,76,73,80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hartwig-medical-foundation","category-learning-healthcare-system","category-molecular-diagnostics","category-personalized-treatment","category-whole-genome-sequencing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n