Indirect Factors That Effect Whole Genome Sequencing Cost

Latest developments in instrumentation and laboratory techniques have drastically brought down the cost of next generation sequencing. This has resulted into large number of research and clinical applications of sequencing for genomics and transcriptomics.

Here is a drill down into the reasons to get a fairly accurate picture of present whole genome sequencing cost.

Outlining the steep fall in costs

Around fifteen years ago the costs towards whole genome sequencing could set one back by a couple of billion dollars. This is presently available at close to a thousand dollar. This staggering fall has helped genomics and transcriptomics as a field. The prohibitive costs earlier made it out of reach of entities, but with affordable costs, whole genome sequencing is now within reach, offering widespread applications and benefits.

The reason for higher costs in certain labs

In most instances, reasons for higher costs are mainly due to certain practices that result in inflated and indirect costs. One common reason is the number of intermediaries in the process that add to the costs. A company that dispenses with the need for intermediaries will help to slash costs considerably. Similarly, optimized utilization of resources is critical to the cost factor. Many companies fail to use the resources in a manner that is optimized. As a result the overheads/OpEx adds to the rising costs, resulting in higher costs down the genome and RNA seq pipeline.

The need for a proper strategy to use optimize the output and cut costs

The need of the hour is to implement a strategy that will make full use of the resources in a manner so as to ensure that demand is fulfilled and met in the most cost effective manner. With lesser costs it is now possible for companies to offer bioinformatics analysis and data interpretation through customized reports for individuals that will help researchers and clinicians know more about diseases or health condition. By leveraging bioinformatics expertise, it is possible for researchers to cut costs without compromising on the quality of the analysis.

Choosing the best service is certainly not a very daunting task. Ideally the company needs to be chosen on the basis of its strength in terms of NGS data analysis and bioinformatics expertise. The company needs to have on team, experts who have adequate experience in helping research and clinical studies. The team needs to be a mix of experts who combine together in one cohesive unit to work seamlessly to deliver accurate and advanced data analysis. Optimized costing can be achieved when the chosen company follows a structured process flow, has dedicated experts, possesses the infrastructure for carrying out the analysis and possesses the level of expertise required in bioinformatics.

Author Bio:

John Taylor is the Senior Marketing Manager of 1010Genome Pte Ltd. 1010Genome is a next generation sequencing and bioinformatics data analysis service provider. Our portfolio of services includes Whole genome, Exome, RNA-seq, transcriptomics, gene mapping, cancer genomics and metagenomics sequencing and data analysis.