Applied Biosystems surpasses industry milestone for cost of human genome sequencing

Applied Biosystems has lowered the cost of analysing the human genome sequence.

By utilising its next-generation genetic analysis platform, scientists from the company conducted the process for less than $60,000 (£29,496) – which is the commercial price for all the required reagents.

The cost of the Applied Biosystems sequencing project is less than the $100,000 (£49,160) milestone set by the industry for the new generation of DNA sequencing technologies, which are beginning to gain wider adoption by the scientific community.

Applied Biosystems stated that the availability of this sequence data in the public domain could help scientists gain a greater understanding of human variation and potentially help them explain differences in individual susceptibility and response to treatment for disease – which could be a boost in the development of personalised medicines.

Kevin McKernan, Applied Biosystems’ senior director of scientific operations, added: "We believe this project validates the promise of next-generation sequencing technologies, which is to lower the cost and increase the speed and accuracy of analyzing human genomic information.

"With each technological milestone, we are moving closer to realizing the promise of personalized medicine."

Applied Biosystems has an installed base of approximately 180,000 instrument systems in nearly 100 countries.