Southeast Asia’s largest genome sequencing centre set up in Vietnam

Genetica, a genetic engineering company with patented technology from the US, has inked a cooperation deal with the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) to develop a genome sequencing centre, the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

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Cao Anh Tuan, Genetica CEO, said that the centre will meet the same standards as Genetica’s laboratory in the US headquarters and comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule, ensuring the most accurate test results, diagnostics, and information security.

The centre will meet the growing demand for genome sequencing in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, Tuan said, adding that this helps save time and reduces costs by up to 30 percent compared to sending samples for analysis in a laboratory in the US, while still ensuring service standards and quality.

Genetica’s genome sequencing results are accepted worldwide, helping users to decode once and the results remain valid for a lifetime, which can be used for medical examination and treatment at major medical facilities and hospitals in foreign countries.

Besides, the centre will also serve as a place for genetic research in collaboration with many leading hospitals in the world and in Vietnam, including the Harvard Medical University, the Hue Central Hospital, the Vietnam National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Tam Duc Hospital, the Hanoi Medical University Hospital, among others. It aims to bring about many new discoveries about genetic diseases, contributing to the development of gene therapy treatment regimens.

For his part, NIC Director Vu Quoc Huy said innovation enterprises are expecting that the centre will create numerous advancements to genetic research, and contribute to building Vietnam as a destination for innovation investments, thereby building a leading innovation ecosystem in the region./.

VNA