• HEALTH Health / Pharma TECHNOLOGY Technology / IT

Nucleome Unveils South Asia’s Largest and Most Advanced Genomics Research Centre; To Sequence 5000 COVID Genomes

• nationalherald
• August 26, 2021

by Prashant Kapadia/NHN

• The Hyderabad-based laboratory, established in the memory of the late 6-time Member of the Parliament from Khandwa, Shri Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan, will conduct the latest third-generation sequencing

• The laboratory will have the world’s largest long- and-short-read sequencing facilities and another such centre will come up in Indore

• Nucleome to start providing its in-house DrSeq suite of predictive genomics products to improve the understanding and uptake of personalized / precision medicine in India

• Hon’ble Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh and Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Chauhan joined the formal inauguration virtually
  

Hyderabad, 26^th August 2021: In a move that will mark the beginning of a new era in India’s genomics capability, Nucleome Informatics today unveiled South Asia’s largest and most advanced genomics facility, NKC Centre for Genomics Research in Hyderabad. The laboratory will carry out the latest third-generation sequencing and play a critical role in fighting the pandemic by sequencing 5000 COVID genomes and 500 human genomes. The laboratory, established in the memory of the late 6-time Member of the Parliament from Khandwa, Shri Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan, will also play a role in upping India’s potential in agriculture, animal husbandry, and personalised / precision medicine, among others.

Hon’ble Minister of Defence, Shri Rajnath Singh along with Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Chauhan today inaugurated the state-of-the-art laboratory at a formal ceremony held at Le Meridien in the presence of Shri Dushyant Singh Baghel, MD and CEO, Nucleome Informatics. Hon’ble Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof K VijayRaghavan also attended the event.

“We are celebrating 75 years of independence and Information technology in the 90s took us to great heights. I believe genomics is the sunrise sector of the 21^st century which will play an important role. Next generation sequencing can bring revolution in biological sciences and unprecedented progress to society. In view of climate change and COVID’s impact on people, genome sequencing can increase productivity and help healthcare – COVID genome sequencing is trying to find out that part of the virus’s DNA that does not change, which will contribute to vaccine development. I have been informed that the centre will sequence 5000 COVID genomes and 500 human genomes for healthcare,” said Hon’ble Minister of Defence, Shri Rajnath Singh.

“India is committed to doubling farmer’s income which will require an increase in productivity, reducing input cost and loss of crop, and right price of the crop. Agrigenomics can help in increasing productivity, reducing input cost, and increasing resistance to disease. I am sure that agrigenomics will become important and useful for addressing challenges of Indian agriculture and doubling farmers’ income,” said Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Chauhan.

“The laboratory is an extraordinary feat and I congratulate Nucleome for this ambitious effort even while remaining connected to the root. This is a remarkable achievement of science and technology and these problem-solving approaches should be done at scale. I am impressed with the technology put in place and will look forward to its implementation,” said Hon’ble Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof K VijayRaghavan.

“Since inception, Nucleome has contributed to the fields of agrigenomics, animal husbandry and wildlife conservation. The Nand Kumar Chauhan Centre for Genomics Research is our tribute to the late Khandwa MP’s relentless service to the people. It was his continuous support and morale-boosting that motivated us to abandon the idea of moving the venture to San Diego, the US and to continue in India. The next NKC Centre for Genomics will be at Indore. With the addition of NovaSeq 6000 (the world’s largest short-read sequencing) and GeneTitan platforms, the laboratory will play a critical role in expanding the scope of our in-house services and allow seamless cross-platform services. We will soon begin to provide our in-house DrSeq suite of predictive genomics products in healthcare to analyse the data of RNA sequencing – we expect this will improve the understanding and uptake of personalized / precision medicine in India,” said Shri Dushyant Singh Baghel, MD and CEO, Nucleome Informatics.

Other Guests of Honour at the inauguration were National General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, Shri Kailash Vijayvargiya, Rajya Sabha MPs Shri Rajendra Gehlot and Shri Ajay Pratap Singh as well as Hon’ble Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Renu Swarup, Hon’ble Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Atul Chaturvedi, and Shri Jayesh Ranjan, Hon’ble Principal Secretary of Departments of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT), Government of Telangana.

In 2020, Nucleome was the first laboratory in South Asia to procure the third-generation long-read sequencing platform Sequel II from PacBio. Nucleome became the first Indian organization to partner in the prestigious multinational Vertebrate Genome Project of the G10K Consortium.

About Nucleome:: Nucleome started its journey as a genomics research service provider in 2013 and became India’s Top ten Life science solution provider and Asia’s top 20 biotechnology laboratory based in Hyderabad by 2016. It offers genomics and bioinformatics research services to the government and private research institutions. Every year since its inception has been a milestone year for Nucleome Informatics Pvt. Ltd.

Nucleome’s operations that started in Hyderabad in 2013 received its ISO certification in 2014. Since it became an MSME in 2015, Nucleome was rated one of India’s 20 Most Promising Pharma & Life Science Technology Solution Provider Companies 2016 (CIO Review), ranked one among the 10 Most Recommended Pharma & Life Sciences Solution providers in 2018 (Insight success), awarded the Knowledge partner of Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad in 2018, recognized as The Noteworthy Biotech and Pharma company (Business APAC) in 2019.

Thanks to more than 150 satisfied clients, this laboratory has finished >1000 projects, >100 species sequenced, and >750Tb data analyzed in less than a decade. True to its mission to serve our clients with the best possible solution, we offer various services across technology platforms. Nucleome has completed several large genomes of Cow, buffalo, Mithun, tiger, swamp buffalo, snow leopard, Indian wild dog, insects and plants.

Nucleome was the chosen service provider for the World Bank-funded WGS project to sequence 200 bovine animals. The lab, along with the wildlife institute of India, sequenced the genome of Great Indian Bustard and helped the scientist in genomics conservation of this critically endangered bird. Nucleome is currently conducting an Indo-Korean joint project under GITA of the Government of India to research and develop disease-specific markers for Inherited Retinal Disorders. The project is jointly funded by the department of science and technology, India and the Ministry of Science, South Korea.