Sequenom Inc has sold a MassARRAY system to the Genome Research Center at the University of Hong Kong for their contribution to the International HapMap Project. The HapMap Project is a $100 million public-private effort launched to construct a detailed map of genetic variation in the human genome. The University of Hong Kong joins several other prominent institutions already using MassARRAY technology for the HapMap Project, including The Whitehead Institute which operates four MassARRAY systems and received a grant of $8.4 million to perform approximately 71 million individual MALDI-TOF genotypes for the HapMap Project.
"The construction of the HapMap requires a technology capable of analyzing genetic variation quickly, accurately and at a reasonable cost," stated Toni Schuh, Sequenom's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased that the University of Hong Kong has joined a number of leading genome centers worldwide in choosing the MassARRAY system. This is further testament to the power and performance of our industry leading technology. In addition, with this installation we have three systems in China and Taiwan including the Academia Sinica and The Shanghai Institute of Hematology."
Dr. William Mak, Manager of The Genome Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong stated: "We are looking forward to using Sequenom's high-throughput and accurate genotyping platform for our portion of the International HapMap Project. We also plan to use this technology to enable our own disease gene discovery programs here at the University of Hong Kong."
The HapMap is expected to accelerate the identification of genes associated with common diseases and drug response. Single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, are the most common form of genetic variation. These SNPs tend to occur in individuals as extended blocks of variation, called haplotypes. Because these blocks contain long stretches of uniform DNA, by identifying just a few points of unique variation within a block, researchers believe they can extrapolate the rest of the genetic variation within that haplotype without having to individually identify each point. As a result, once a genetic map of haplotype sizes and boundaries is created, researchers may need to study only a small subset of the estimated 10 million SNPs that exist to efficiently identify patterns of variation between individuals. The goal of the HapMap project is to define haplotype blocks and the SNPs that identify them, and thereby enable more efficient future identification of disease-related variation.