DNAnexus and Galatea Bio Launch Collaboration To Enhance Precision Medicine With Advanced Genetic Tools for Underserved Populations

DNAnexus, Inc., provider of the Precision Health Data Cloud, and Galatea Bio, committed to 'Precision Health at Scale for All,' announced a strategic collaboration to enhance biomedical research and precision medicine, particularly for Latin American populations and other underserved groups. The collaboration will combine Galatea’s specialized data and DNAnexus' cloud capabilities to increase access to advanced genetic tools that can improve diagnostic testing, accelerate drug discovery, and optimize health outcomes.

Under the new agreement, Galatea Bio will use DNAnexus' Precision Health Data Cloud to increase the availability and speed of the analysis of its diverse non-European datasets. Importantly, this collaboration will allow DNAnexus' extensive network of more than 48,000 users across 48 countries to potentially leverage Galatea’s advanced local ancestry and ancestry-adjusted PRS (polygenic risk score) algorithms.

Galatea Bio is committed to building the largest longitudinal cohort in the Americas, aiming to empower precision health at a larger scale. “Our collaboration with DNAnexus enhances our ability to manage, analyze, and broaden the accessibility of our unique data,” said Carlos Bustamante, PhD, founder and CEO of Galatea Bio. “We are excited about the global scientific community's potential to drive meaningful advancements in health outcomes and are particularly focused on improving care for historically underserved communities.”

Today, DNAnexus supports more than 105 petabytes of complex clinical genomic, proteomic, and other multi-omic datasets on behalf of a growing network of collaborators. Its comprehensive cloud platform meets the most rigorous industry standards for data quality, security, privacy, and regulatory compliance.

“DNAnexus is committed to advancing health equity for all individuals around the world,” said Thomas Laur, CEO at DNAnexus. “Galatea Bio is filling an enormous unmet need in precision health with these larger, non-European cohort studies. Soon, scientists will be able to uncover novel genetic associations that occur more or less frequently in these populations, which will help improve our collective ability to understand, treat, and hopefully one day cure many complex diseases.”

Galatea Bio is also advancing its state-of-the-art biogeographic ancestry algorithms to refine large-scale population studies and foster scientific breakthroughs. Its CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited clinical laboratory offers a comprehensive range of genomic services, including whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing, as well as ancestry-adjusted panels for conditions such as autism, hereditary cancer, immune dysregulation, cardiovascular and thyroid diseases, and pharmacogenomics. With the support of DNAnexus' platform, Galatea Bio will enhance its capability to define more accurate ancestry-adjusted PRS, improve clinical trial recruitment, and expand its drug discovery programs.