Sharma’s background is in academia, and he’s been using NGS to research infectious diseases since 2009. A fully automated data analysis platform produces customized reports providing actionable results. “I don’t have two postdocs who can stare at data for months.”Īdvanta validated various tests that detect and quantify hundreds of organisms and pathogens, as well as thousands of antimicrobial resistance markers. “In academic labs, there are resources and time-they can keep digging into the data and identify what’s useful or what’s not useful,” says Sharma. Antibiotic treatment for acute infection or for prophylaxis often fails to prevent recurrent infections.Ĭlinical labs must provide accurate results in a timely manner so physicians can make the most informed decision for their patients-often when their lives are at stake. While the standard of care continues to be microbial culture and sensitivity, the prevalence of drug resistance in the microorganisms that cause these infections is increasing. In the United States, UTIs are among the most common infections, accounting for an average of 10 million office visits and 1 million hospitalizations per year. Precision metagenomics, then, could change the landscape of infectious disease diagnosis and care as we know it. Precision metagenomics, on the other hand, uses NGS and allows researchers to comprehensively sequence the entire genetic content of all organisms present in a given complex sample. The technology reduces the time needed to learn critical information about a microbiome from weeks to hours. There is no PCR panel for pan-infectious diseases or a urinary tract infection -only for particular bugs.” Because, Sharma says, “if you’re doing PCR, you can find only what you’re looking for. Their goal is to eventually migrate to NGS-supported products for faster and more economical infectious disease diagnostic workflows. Sharma’s main role is to actively seek out new research technology and bring it into the clinical setting, offering laboratory developed molecular tests to small medical practices and large hospital systems.Īdvanta is currently developing multiplex qPCR-based panels with Scienetix, a company Sharma cofounded with Advanta CEO Rob Carpenter, PhD. “We realized that NGS and molecular diagnostics in particular were going to be central to infectious disease diagnosis moving forward, and we want to be as cutting edge as possible.” “The paradigm of infectious disease diagnosis is shifting,” says Sharma. Accordingly, Advanta has processed about 1 million SARS-CoV-2 samples since the start of the pandemic.Īlthough Advanta specialized in infectious diseases before 2020, the years since have only placed greater emphasis on molecular diagnostics. But today they largely focus on infectious disease testing and research through their microbiology culture, PCR, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) facilities. Based in Tyler, Texas, Advanta was originally founded as a routine clinical lab to service the local region. Precision metagenomics is the direct opposite of that-you choose the antibiotic therapy based on the comprehensive microbial profile of a given infection, including the antimicrobial resist markers.”Īdvanta Genetics is a 50-person clinical and research laboratory whose mission is to drive equitable access to timely and accurate medical care through innovation and the adoption of new technologies. “It’s not a natural problem, because we selected treatment based on empirical evidence, and administered imprecise antibiotic therapy. “When I was studying tuberculosis for my doctorate, we used to say that drug resistance is a humanmade problem,” says Rahul Sharma, PhD, chief innovation officer of Advanta Genetics.
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