Alliance for Genomic Discovery welcomes three new members, boosting real-world data-driven drug development

Illumina, Inc., a global provider of DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, and Nashville Biosciences, LLC (NashBio) have welcomed three prominent pharmaceutical companies – Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK and Novo Nordisk – to the Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD). This collaboration seeks to expedite drug development through extensive genomics research.

Launched in 2022 by Illumina and NashBio, AGD aims to accelerate therapeutic development through large-scale genomics, leveraging the capabilities of Illumina’s sequencing platforms and NashBio’s clinical genomic resource. The addition of the three new members brings the total number of pharmaceutical companies in the alliance to eight. The pharma members, including founding organizations AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer and Merck, will collectively fund the whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 250,000 DNA samples from the BioVU^® biobank – a repository linked to de-identified medical records. This real-world data (RWD) will be analyzed to identify potential drug targets and streamline the drug development process.

Joydeep Goswami, CFO and Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer of Illumina, expressed the potential impact, stating, “This rich dataset will enable the discovery of highly actionable therapeutic targets and improve the speed, probability of success, and efficiency of the discovery and development process.”

In 2023, AGD completed the WGS of approximately 86,000 DNA samples from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s BioVU biobank, including a diverse ancestry cohort. The analysis is part of the alliance’s commitment to increasing the representation of various ancestries in genomic research, and aims to identify disease associations and drug targets for intervention, utilizing innovative, large-scale analysis tools.

Leeland Ekstrom, CEO of NashBio, explained, “We are thrilled to welcome these latest members to AGD and to work with all of these organizations to advance the study of the genome and improve human health.” Ekstrom highlighted the alliance’s commitment to exploring possible additions of other multiomic data to expand the resource further.

AGD aims to help bridge the gap in the diversity of genomic data, moving toward a more equitable representation of ancestries in genetic research. It also aims to accelerate the development of novel therapeutics through the use of large-scale genomics and the creation of a preeminent real-world genomic resource. This large-scale initiative holds promise for faster drug development and fairer health care through analysis of diverse DNA samples.