Omicia launches 'Opal Clinical' genetic interpretation software platform

With the cost of next-generation genome sequencing rapidly decreasing, it’s the hard job of interpreting the results that is preventing genomics from helping doctors care for patients in the clinic.

Omicia is trying to ease the difficult job of interpreting whole-genome sequencing with its new Opal Clinical platform, which is sold as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). With Opal, hospitals and diagnostic labs can launch genetic studies faster and interpret results more accurately and quickly, the company says.

“We introduce Opal Clinical as genomics expands beyond the research lab into the clinic,” Omicia CEO Mike Aicher said in a statement. “Opal Clinical meets today’s stringent requirements for clinical bioinformatics solutions — accuracy, scalability, quick turnaround, and repeatability.”

(Omicia will be participating in VentureBeat’s HealthBeat conference, which will be held in San Francisco, Oct. 27 – 28.)

Omicia doesn’t sequence the genome itself. It provides the mathematical algorithms needed to find mutations and connect them with known diseases. This information can help diagnose diseases like cancer and inform treatment plans. “Every step leads us closer to personalized medicine,” Aicher says.

The new platform is available immediately.

Omicia is headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Its investors include Artis Ventures, Acadia Woods, Bay City Capital, Buchanan Investments, Casdin Capital, and Yuri Milner.