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Cambridge-based genomics services provider Knome Inc. reports it has launched a new genomic analysis offering that comes to about $1 per gene. This potentially will bring genomic computing to the masses, the company claimed.
Dubbed KnomeSelect, the offering is priced at $24,500 for individuals and $19,500 per person for couples and families. This offering is made possible by focusing on the sequencing of the 20,000 genes in the human genome that contain the blueprint for making proteins. Several years ago, the benefits of genomic analysis -- which offers insight into an individual’s preexisting medical or health conditions -- was only for wealthy people, stated Knome in a press release. It is “now within the reach of a broader range of individuals seeking to understand more about the health and well-being of themselves and their loved ones.”
Knome claimed its service is unlike existing low-priced genotyping offerings. These capture genetic changes called common variants by taking a sample of less than 0.05 percent of the customer’s genome. Instead, Knome’s comprehensive gene sequencing captures the entire coding region of an individual’s genes. This permits the detection of rare variants -- mutations researchers think are the genetic underpinning for most diseases.
Knome can now sequence entire families, George Church, a co-founder of the firm and professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, said in a written statement. This will enable the tracking of gene-specific inheritance patterns across generations and identify shared traits, he said.
This month, Knome also auctioned off an entire personal genome sequencing, with related interpretation services, on eBay Inc.’s marketplace, for $68,000.
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