"The acquisition of Arpeggi's technology and world-classteam of data and technology experts will enable us to accelerate Gene by Gene'splan to make next-generation DNA sequencing and clinical genomics accessibleand affordable to all," said Max Blankfeld, managing partner of Gene by Gene,in a press release. "We are on a mission to transform healthcare bydramatically speeding up the process, and reducing the costs, of genetic tests,which today are often far too expensive for the average customer."
As a result of this acquisition, the entire Arpeggi team andthe company's technology platform will be incorporated into Gene by Gene, withArpeggi's founders joining the Gene by Gene management team. Nir Leibovich ofArpeggi has been named chief business officer for Gene by Gene, with Jason Wangto serve as chief technology officer and David Mittelman, Ph.D., taking up theposition of chief scientific officer. Gene by Gene offers DNA testing to answerpaternity questions, determine ancestry, identify genetic disorders orinherited diseases and for research.
"The deluge of data generated from genomic testing, and theability to store, analyze and interpret it efficiently, has been a bottleneckfor organizations focused on large-scale sequencing," Rafael Torres, seniormanaging director at GE Ventures-Healthcare, commented in a statement."Arpeggi's solution provides an infrastructure that helps human genomic andbioinformatics companies get the most out of their data. We're proud to haveArpeggi involved with our Entrepreneurship Program with StartUp Health andcannot wait to see them further advance DNA testing through the marriage ofscience and technology."
Arpeggi, which debuted in 2012, released a new platform inApril: GCAT- Genome Comparison and Analytic Testing, a free, community-drivenplatform for evaluating the performance of next-generation sequencing dataanalysis methods. Arpeggi was chosen as one of 14 startups to join the StartUpHealth and GE Entrepreneurship Program this year.
"We are thrilled by the acquisition of Arpeggi and excitedto continue to help Gene by Gene on its mission to lead the rapidly advancinggenetics testing and sequencing market," Unity Stoakes, co-founder andpresident of StartUp Health, said in a press release. "This acquisitionrepresents a significant combination of technologies, expertise andinfrastructure that we believe will make an important impact on the future ofthe genomics sector and how many people have access to these innovations."
SOURCE: Gene by Gene press release
