Precure officials say they have selected Helix as its multiomic laboratory and AI tools provider supporting plans to generate molecular data from approximately one million biospecimens. The goal is to accelerate the integration of molecular insights into routine clinical care at the Mayo Clinic and across health systems more broadly.
The Mayo Clinic last week launched Precure with founding partner Thermo Fisher Scientific to help transform how the life sciences community understands the biological changes that occur as disease develops before symptoms occur. Precure brings together clinical expertise, de-identified longitudinal health information, and population-scale molecular data to accelerate the development of new approaches with healthcare applications.
Helix will provide both advanced AI tools for delivery of genomics into the clinic and biomarker driven research, and population scale multiomic capability that encompasses clinical whole genome sequencing (WGS) and research grade proteome sequencing. Linked with longitudinal clinical information and high performance compute infrastructure, the objective is to create new opportunities for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, according to Aaron Mangold, MD, chief medical officer, Precure.
“Our goal is to generate genomic information that can help inform patient care while creating a powerful resource for discovery,” said Mangold. “We are working to make clinical whole genome sequencing and multiomics a foundation of care, helping us detect disease sooner and act earlier.”
Building on Mayo Clinic’s Tapestry study, which utilized Helix’s Exome+ sequencing technology and reached 100,000 participants, Precure is extending that collaboration by leveraging Helix’s experience providing workflow orchestration, (CLIA/CAP) genomic sequencing, data infrastructure, and AI tools to its health system partners.
Precure and Helix have selected Ultima Genomics’ UG200™ Ultra Sequencing Platform as part of the program’s large-scale multiomics initiative. Helix will use a fleet of Ultima’s next-generation platforms to generate genomic data for WGS and read-out for proteomics at scale.
“The genome is becoming an enduring patient resource, providing a precision baseline for a lifetime of care,” noted James Lu, MD, PhD, CEO of Helix. “Helix brings together the laboratory and data capabilities to make this possible at scale.”
Helix joins Precure as a collaborator and minority owner. Mayo Clinic’s involvement in Precure is intended to advance its nonprofit mission. Any financial returns to Mayo Clinic would be reinvested in its mission of patient care, research and education. Visit mayo.edu/research/precure for more information.
