Qiagen N.V. announced a collaboration with 10x Genomics to develop and promote comprehensive solutions for next-generation sequencing (NGS), single-cell biology and bioinformatics.

Qiagen, a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions to transform biological materials into valuable molecular insights.

This collaboration includes optimizing Qiagen’s sample technologies for use with 10x Genomics GemCode and Chromium systems. This includes Qiagen’s MagAttract HMW DNA kit to deliver high-quality, high molecular weight (HMW) DNA through a simple and fast workflow. The enhanced performance of integrating Qiagen and 10x Genomics technologies will be shown at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) meeting in Orlando, Florida from February 10-13.

The partnership supports complete workflows in single-cell biology by leveraging 10x Genomics’ revolutionary GemCode technology with Qiagen’s leading single-cell biology portfolio and QIAseq NGS solutions.

It investigates the implementation of 10x Genomics’ GemCode technology with Qiagen’s proprietary GeneReader NGS System, the world’s first complete NGS workflow designed for any lab. The combination will result in upgraded capabilities of Qiagen’s Sample to Insight solutions for NGS such as allowing customers to detect structural variants, haplotypes and other valuable long-range information from DNA inputs as little as 1ng.

It enables the processing and analysis of 10x Genomics’ “Linked-Reads” with Qiagen’s suite of leading bioinformatics solutions. These efforts aim to address the challenges of data analysis, interpretation, clinical decision-support, and reporting that rely on testing for long-range phasing and structural variants in genomics.

The collaboration focuses on co-marketing each other’s applications, including Qiagen’s sample technologies, QIAseq NGS solutions, and Qiagen Bioinformatics along with 10x GemCode Platform and Chromium products.

“Qiagen’s collaboration with 10x Genomics enables both companies to better serve its customers, helping them make groundbreaking advances in single-cell biology, bioinformatics and beyond,” said Peer Schatz, CEO of Qiagen. “10x Genomics is recognized for delivering critical long-range sequence information that greatly expands the quality of genome research. This partnership will further the potential of each of our product lines while providing significant new capabilities to NGS researchers.”

“We welcome the opportunity to partner with Qiagen, with their comprehensive offerings for genomic analysis, ranging from sample preparation technologies to bioinformatics solutions for the interpretation and analysis of genomic data,” said Serge Saxonov, 10x’s chief executive officer. “Access to long-range sequence information is becoming the standard for obtaining the most comprehensive understanding of disease, and we expect this collaboration to allow our respective customers to gain valuable insights that have previously not been possible.”

10x Genomics’ GemCode Platform overcomes existing NGS limitations through a combination of microfluidics, chemistry and bioinformatics. The system is a unique molecular barcoding and analysis platform that consists of instrumentation, reagents and software to provide a complete approach for a broad range of applications, including single-cell transcriptomics and whole genome analysis.