Latest news with #Perturb-seq
Business Wire
6 days ago
- Health
- Business Wire
X-Atlas/Orion: Xaira Therapeutics Unveils Largest Publicly Available Genome-Wide Perturb-seq Dataset to Power Next-Generation AI for Biology
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Xaira Therapeutics today announced a significant leap forward in developing AI-driven virtual cell models with the release of 'X-Atlas/Orion,' the largest publicly available Perturb-seq atlas. This extensive dataset was made possible by Xaira's concurrently introduced 'Fix-Cryopreserve-ScRNAseq' (FiCS) Perturb-seq platform, a highly scalable technology designed for large-scale data generation. These combined advancements are poised to accelerate the development of biological foundation models and unlock new frontiers in biological discovery and therapeutic development. 'We believe this will help us better understand disease biology and discover drug targets.' The rapid progress of single cell technology has spurred the creation of foundation models aimed at deciphering complex biological processes. While these models hold immense potential for creating AI-driven virtual cells, their advancement has been hampered by the scarcity of large-scale, high-quality perturbation data. Xaira's FiCS Perturb-seq platform, which leverages the Chromium platform from 10x Genomics, delivers the sensitivity, scalability and reproducibility essential for generating high-quality perturbational data. Xaira's innovative approach solves logistical challenges associated with profiling large numbers of cells, effectively captures perturbation-induced transcriptomic changes and accurately recapitulates known biological pathways and protein complexes. The X-Atlas/Orion dataset itself comprises 8 million cells, targeting all human protein-coding genes, with deep sequencing of over 16,000 unique molecular identifiers (UMIs) per cell, allowing for the discovery of biological phenotypes from a wide range of genetic perturbations. 'This industrialized platform and the Orion dataset will empower scientists to build more predictive models of complex biology,' said Ci Chu, vice president of early discovery at Xaira and senior author of the preprint. 'We believe this will help us better understand disease biology and discover drug targets.' One of the most significant advances is Xaira's method to detect dose-dependent genetic effects, a more refined way of understanding how gene activity changes with the intensity of a given intervention. Traditionally, scientists viewed Perturb-seq gene knockdowns as an 'on' or 'off' switch. The Xaira scientists showed that the amount of single guide RNA (sgRNA) detected in each cell can be used to measure how strongly a gene is suppressed, offering a much more detailed picture of genetic function. This methodology offers a refined framework to enhance the predictive power and biological insight of future causal models by incorporating perturbation strength as a continuous variable. 'This platform provides the scale and quality needed to model how cells respond across conditions, which is a crucial step toward training the first generation of virtual cell models,' said Bo Wang, SVP and head of biomedical AI for Xaira Therapeutics. 'With this foundation, we're better equipped to uncover disease mechanisms and design smarter therapies.' This publication caps a landmark year for Xaira since its launch in April 2024. In October 2024, Dr. David Baker, Xaira co-founder, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside Drs. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper of Google DeepMind for pioneering AI-driven advancements in protein structure prediction and novel protein design. The Xaira team is working to advance these models while developing new methods that can connect the world of biological targets and engineered molecules to the human experience of disease. Access the Dataset: X-Atlas/Orion is now publicly available here: FiCS Perturb-seq and X-Atlas/Orion publication: About Xaira Therapeutics Xaira Therapeutics is an integrated biotechnology company driving advances in artificial intelligence to learn the language of life and transform how we treat disease. The company seeks to rethink the drug discovery and development process from end-to-end by bringing together leading talent across three core areas: machine learning research to better understand biology, expansive data generation to power new models, and robust therapeutic product development to treat disease. Xaira is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Illumina and Broad Clinical Labs usher in new era of drug discovery with collaboration to rapidly scale single-cell solutions
Longstanding partners bring together end-to-end workflows and leading CRISPRPerturb-seq technologies setting a standard for single-cell studies and enabling a 5billion single-cell atlas ecosystem within three years SAN DIEGO, Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in next-generation sequencing and array-based technologies, today announced a collaboration with Broad Clinical Labs to rapidly streamline and scale single-cell projects with cutting-edge tools and workflows. Together, the longstanding partners will set the standard for scalable single-cell research and accelerate the development of a 5 billion cell atlas within the next three years. "Disease doesn't wait, and neither do we – Broad Clinical Labs and Illumina are unlocking the massive opportunities of single-cell sequencing to build a deeper understanding of biology," said Steve Barnard, Chief Technology Officer at Illumina. "Illumina has set the standard in whole genome sequencing, and now, with Broad's deep experience and long history of translating complex molecular biology assays into high-throughput, high quality workflows, we're doing the same with single-cell technology to advance precision health." "Supporting the entire -omics ecosystem in building these capabilities enables significantly greater insights into key drivers of disease and more rapid translation of these insights into better precision care," said Niall Lennon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Scientific Officer at Broad Clinical Labs. "By expanding our partnership to single-cell solutions, we're making significant strides to understand the roots of disease and close the gap between new biological insights and impact for patients," said Aziz Al'Khafaji, Director of Molecular R&D at Broad Clinical Labs. "The capabilities we're building, like combining Perturb-seq with Illumina Single Cell 3' RNA Prep, will support rapid and consistent data generation like we've demonstrated in the whole genome space, giving the research community the ability to create billion-cell atlas studies to make the next discoveries." The combination of Illumina's Single Cell Prep, NovaSeq™ X Plus platform, 25B flow cell and DRAGEN™ analysis software creates a seamless end-to-end workflow enabling the high-throughput processing of single-cell samples. Broad Clinical Labs will use this leading workflow alongside state-of-the-art techniques like Perturb-seq, CRISPR screens, and other cutting-edge applications. Together, these capabilities will help researchers process and analyze unprecedented volumes of single-cell reads with unparalleled speed and accuracy to make large-scale functional genomics studies possible and accelerate discovery in areas such as disease modeling and drug development. Use of forward-looking statements This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors to which our business is subject that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are: (i) challenges inherent in developing and launching new products and services, including modifying and scaling manufacturing operations, and reliance on third-party suppliers for critical components; (ii) our ability to manufacture robust instrumentation and consumables; and (iii) the acceptance by customers of our newly launched products, which may or may not meet our and their expectations, together with other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts' expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates on the progress of the current quarter. About Broad Clinical Labs Broad Clinical Laboratories was founded in 2013 as a non-profit subsidiary of Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to accelerate the world toward a better understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease by pursuing projects, developing products, and driving adoption of cutting edge -omics technologies and novel molecular assays. Broad Clinical Labs is a leader in translational genomics, having sequenced over 700,000 genomes in service of its mission to accelerate the understanding and diagnosis of human disease. About Illumina Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit and connect with us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Contacts Investors:Salli Schwartz858-291-6421IR@ Media:Christine DouglassPR@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Illumina, Inc. Sign in to access your portfolio
