UK Biobank invests in DxS' genetic expertise

UK-based DxS, a personalized medicine company, has completed a molecular process pilot study for the UK Biobank. This confirmed that collection and transport of volunteers' blood from sites around the UK to the Biobank laboratories in Manchester could be undertaken without any reduction in sample quality.

Biobank appointed DxS to both manage the project and perform the crucial genomics element of the study. This was able to show conclusively that DNA extracted from the samples processed and stored in a variety of ways was suitable for a variety of testing. The samples were also found by other collaborating labs to be suitable for analysis using clinical chemistry and proteomic and metabolomic techniques.

Once fully operational, the UK Biobank will be the world's biggest resource for the study of the role of genes, environment and lifestyle in health and disease. Involving up to half a million participants over the next five years, it will build on the work of the Human Genome Project, helping to convert this information into public health benefits. A national resource of unprecedented size will be created containing biological samples and information on the participants' current health, lifestyle and medical histories, says DxS.