Oxford Nanopore Technologies has announced a landmark project with Singapore's National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme, led by Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE), aimed at developing a comprehensive structural variant catalogue representing three major ethnic groups in Singapore including Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnicities.

These genetic variations have demonstrated significance in helping clinician scientists and researchers in understanding human genetic diversity and diseases.

Oxford Nanopore’s portion of the project will focus on sequencing 10,000 genomes representing Singapore’s diverse population, including Malay, Indian, and Chinese communities participating in the PRECISE-SG100K population cohort. This project will use Oxford Nanopore’s fleet of high-output PromethION 48 sequencing devices to deliver detailed, comprehensive genomic data to advance research and support precision healthcare. The project started mid-2024 and will run up to 12 months.

Oxford Nanopore has made strategic investments in Singapore, which it has positioned as a commercial hub for the Asia Pacific region. The company recently expanded its laboratory facilities in Singapore to support increased activities in training, knowledge transfer, and the up-skilling of local technical staff. This includes deploying sequencers within the Science Centre Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Technology for use within high school, undergraduate and adult education programmes.

Additionally, the company has access to a distribution facility in Singapore through its expanded partnership with UPS Healthcare, resulting in faster delivery of flow cells to Singapore and across the Asia Pacific.