OREANDA-NEWS. April 18, 2016.  Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, will highlight its extensive portfolio of innovations for research aimed at addressing the growing need for end-to-end solutions that enable more effective cancer treatments in the future. The new products and a wide spectrum of scientific posters are being featured at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2016 Annual Meeting, booth #1530 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

“As precision medicine advances, the scale and depth of Thermo Fisher’s growing cancer research portfolio is uniquely suited to serve the needs of our customers in their collective endeavor to deliver cures through cancer science,” said Joe Bernardo, president of clinical next-generation sequencing for Thermo Fisher. “Through our commitment to innovation, we will continue to enable breakthroughs in the lab intended for the development of future clinical applications.”

Among the innovations featured at AACR are:

• New Invitrogen Lenti Array CRISPR Libraries significantly expand the scientific community’s ability to use CRISPR based genome editing technology to identify key therapeutic targets and understand complex biological pathways. Enabling customers to completely knockout entire panels of genes increases the quality and the efficiency of screening experiments. Understanding phenotypic responses is key for cancer research.

• Researchers looking for a single, simplified solution for the widest range of targeted sequencing applications, the new Ion S5 and Ion S5 XL next-generation sequencing (NGS) systems are rapid, cost-effective and flexible platforms that can be scaled for all research areas. Built upon the proven capabilities of Ion Torrent technology, the new Ion S5 systems combine the ability to sequence gene panels and small genomes as well as exomes, transcriptomes and custom assays. The platforms are designed with plug-and-play, cartridge-based reagents to make setting up and operating the sequencers simple and efficient.

• As part of a comprehensive proteome analysis workflow for cancer research, the next-generation Thermo Scientific Vanquish ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system combined with the Thermo Scientific Q Exactive Plus Quadrupole-Orbitrap and the Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantiva Triple Quadrapole mass spectrometers can help uncover the complexities of the proteome and enable analysis of complex biological matrices routinely used in clinical research laboratories. This multidisciplinary approach to study the proteome and view cancer as a system rather than an ensemble of molecules - acquiring genome-scale information from proteomic analysis - can transform researchers’ ability to link genotype to phenotype in cancer.

• The Invitrogen Pre-Defined siRNA Libraries are new for discovery applications that leverage the proprietary Silencer (unmodified) and Silencer Select (chemically modified) siRNA technologies to better understand phenotypic responses for cancer research. These new catalogues expand the researcher’s capabilities in RNAi screening against updated genome targets and siRNA designs to effectively investigate biological pathways.

• The Applied Biosystems Minor Variant Finder Software is a new tool developed for the detection and reporting of minor mutations by Sanger sequencing. The innovative algorithm of the software neutralizes the background noise using a control sample, and enables calling of minor variants at a detection level as low as 5 percent. Depending on the cancer type, the moderate number of relevant variants in oncogenes (for example, KRAS, NRAS, etc.) and/or tumor suppressor genes (for example, TP53) could be detected quickly and cost-effectively. The software is also an important confirmatory method for NGS results.

• The Thermo Scientific NanoDrop One and NanoDrop OnceC UV-V microvolume spectrophotometers are designed to help life science researchers better understand sample quality with only 1-2 µL of sample to avoid costly delays caused by troubleshooting and/or repeat experiments. The spectrophotometers feature the new Thermo Scientific Acclaro Sample Intelligence technology, which enables scientists to identify sample contaminants, obtain corrected concentration results and receive instant feedback about sample quality with guided technical support. A wide dynamic range avoids the need to dilute samples, and the Auto-Measure feature streamlines quantitation.

Thermo Fisher scientists will present 19 posters on topics ranging from liquid biopsy and next-generation sequencing solutions to qPCR-based pharmacogenomics and targeted mass spectrometry. For a complete list of presentations, consult the AACR posters schedule. Featured posters include:

Sunday, April 17, 2016

• Multiplex TaqMan assays for rare mutation analysis for using digital PCR. Section 20, poster board 8, abstract #402. Presented by Marion Laig, Ph.D., senior applications specialist, genetic analysis R&D, Thermo Fisher Scientific from 1-5 p.m.

Monday, April 18, 2016

• A Comprehensive Childhood Cancer Research Gene Panel. Section 21, poster board 15, abstract number 1384. Presented by Dr. Tim Triche, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles from 8 a.m.-noon.

• Clinical research results for a NGS-based kit for targeted detection of clinically relevant gene rearrangements in lung tumor samples. Section 21, poster board 17, abstract #1386. Presented by Jeff Schageman, Ph.D., staff scientist, bioinformatics, Thermo Fisher Scientific from 8 a.m.-noon.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

• Detection of somatic mutations at 0.1 percent frequency from cfDNA in peripheral blood with a multiplex next generation sequencing assay. Section 23, poster board 19, abstract #3959. Presented by Dumitru Brinza, Ph.D., senior staff scientist, bioinformatics, Thermo Fisher Scientific from 1-5 p.m.

• Complete workflow for detection of low frequency somatic mutations from cell-free DNA using Ion Torrent platforms. Section 6, poster board 21, abstract 3622. Presented by Jian Gu, Ph.D., senior staff scientist, molecular biology, Thermo Fisher Scientific from 1-5 p.m.

• Flow Cytometry Multiplexing Used to Analyze Metabolic Activity and Assess Pharmaceutical Compound Toxicity as A High Throughput Screening Tool. Section 7, poster board 13, abstract #3643. Presented by Leticia Montoya, Ph.D., scientist III, cell biology, Thermo Fisher Scientific from 1-5 p.m.

• Quantitative analysis of IGF1R/AKT/mTOR pathway using multiplex immunoprecipitation and targeted mass spectrometry. Section 20, poster board 16, abstract #3884. Presented by Bhavin Patel, Ph.D., scientist III, Thermo Fisher Scientific from 1-5 p.m.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

• Minor Variant Finder: New software for detecting somatic mutations at low level in Sanger sequencing traces. Section 37, poster board 6, abstract #5269. Presented by Edgar Schreiber, senior product applications specialist, Genetic Sciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific, from 8 a.m.-noon.

For more information on Thermo Fisher’s activities at AACR 2016, please visit here.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of \\$17 billion and more than 50,000 employees in 50 countries. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands – Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services – we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive support. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.