Beckman Coulter Life Sciences and Illumina Accelerate Oncology Research with Launch of TruSight Oncology 500 DNA/RNA Application

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, a global leader in laboratory automation and innovation, in partnership with Illumina, a leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, offers a promising new approach to oncology research delivering faster results with fewer touchpoints. The Illumina TruSight™ Oncology 500 DNA/RNA assay on the Biomek NGeniuS System from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences provides an innovative automated solution enabling comprehensive genomic profiling of tumor samples. 

The application supports both DNA and RNA inputs, enabling the detection of critical cancer biomarkers including single nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions, deletions, gene amplifications, fusions, and splice events. Complete library preparation can be achieved in less than three days, providing faster results with automated precision from sample preparation to sequencing. 

Four to 24 libraries can be processed in a single batch, accommodating both high-quality and low-quality FFPE samples. The assay is also optimized for reduced plastic use and lower consumable costs, making cutting-edge research more accessible and sustainable. 

“Delivering critical research results faster is paramount in all that we do in next generation sequencing and beyond,” said Ewan Grant, Senior Director of the Biotech Workflow Solutions Business Unit at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. “The continued collaboration with Illumina aims to accelerate the journey from sample to insight, and the launch of this new application demonstrates our commitment to enable our customers to deliver data quicker and more reliably without the difficulties of manual workflows.” 

The new application joins the Illumina DNA Prep, DNA PCR-Free Prep, and RNA Prep with Enrichment applications, which are all available in a first-of-its-kind open chemistry, cloud-based Biomek NGeniuS System Applications Library. 

“We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences through the development of the Illumina DNA PCR Free and Illumina TruSight Oncology 500 DNA method for use on the Biomek NGeniuS liquid handling system to enable NGS-based oncology testing,” said Mike Kreitzinger, Senior Director, Clinical Strategy & Partnership, Americas at Illumina. “For our mutual customers, the development of automated methods on the Biomek NGeniuS System will significantly reduce hands-on time, improve customer experience, and continue to enable genomics as a critical tool for clinical research in oncology.” 

Launched in June of 2022, the Biomek NGeniuS System is a purpose-built liquid handler for low-medium throughput next generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation. It provides an easy-to-use automation solution that reduces user-errors, manual transfers, and hands-on time for the traditionally labor-intensive process of NGS library construction. 

The Illumina TruSight Oncology 500 DNA/RNA sample preparation method and additional applications centered around cancer research, infectious disease research, and targeted sequencing is the latest installment in a series of automation application collaborations between the two companies announced in February 2022.