WuXi NextCODE, a precision medicine company using the genome to improve health worldwide, and Sidra Medical and Research Center, a Doha, Qatar-based hospital, research and education institution, have formed a long-term agreement to provide and co-develop comprehensive research and bioinformatics programs.

“Understanding the genome is the key to building a roadmap for better health outcomes. We are really excited to be a part of a groundbreaking national project like the Qatar Genome Project, as well as other research programs that will empower us and our partners to improve the health of the people in Qatar. Our work on the QGP has the potential to develop applications that will take our research and expertise beyond Qatar’s borders,” said Dr. Francesco Marincola, Sidra’s chief research officer. “The partnership with WuXi NextCODE brings us key capabilities: a fully integrated and truly scalable bioinformatics system for ramping up our sequencing effort, build a global standard database and tools using population genomic and medical data to benefit research and clinical care.”

“Qatar is a small nation thinking big, committed to playing a leading role in making sequence data a standard part of healthcare,” said Hannes Smarason, co-founder, president and chief operating officer of WuXi NextCODE, a wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi AppTec. “Given our roots in Iceland and work with Genomics England and other large-scale projects, this collaboration is a natural fit for us.”

The implementation will allow Sidra to develop customized applications to support the genetic research needs of several health and research programs currently underway in Qatar, such as the Qatar Genome Project (QGP). Its aim is to generate genome sequence and molecular ’omics data on the Qatari population and link it to a national electronic medical record (EMR) system that will help chart a road map for future advanced health care through personalized medicine.