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DNAnexus

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DNAnexus
Founded2009
Productscloud-based data analysis
Websitewww.dnanexus.com

DNAnexus is an American company that provides a cloud-based data analysis and management platform for DNA sequence data. It is based in Mountain View, California, and was founded in 2009 by Stanford University professors Serafim Batzoglou and Arend Sidow and Stanford computer scientist Andreas Sundquist.[1]

History

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DNAnexus was founded in early 2009 as a spin-off from Stanford University to address the need for computing infrastructure in DNA sequence analysis.[1] The company raised $1.55 million in venture capital funding from First Round Capital, K9 Ventures, and SoftTech VC.[2]

In April 2010, DNAnexus launched its cloud-based sequence data service.[1]

In August 2011, the company expanded its recruiting process by offering an incentive of $20,000 plus a full genome sequence to employees who referred a software engineer.[3][4][5]

In October 2011, DNAnexus announced that it had raised $15 million from Google Ventures, TPG Biotech, First Round Capital, SoftTech VC, K9 Ventures, and Felicis Ventures.[6][7]

In 2012, DNAnexus CEO and co-founder Andreas Sundquist was named one of FierceBiotech’s Top 10 Biotech Techies.[8]

In October 2013, the company announced a collaboration with the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine.[9] Through the partnership, DNAnexus and scientists at Baylor performed the largest cloud-based genomics analysis to date, processing 3,751 whole human genomes and 10,771 exomes.[10] Analysis was run using Amazon Web Services infrastructure and conducted for the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium. The effort used 2.4 million core-hours of computational time[11] and generated 430 terabytes of data.[12]

The company announced a series C venture funding round of $15 million in January 2014.[13][14] Investors included Claremont Creek Ventures, First Round Capital, Google Ventures, and TPG Biotech.

Technology

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DNAnexus uses cloud computing from Amazon Web Services. Customers of DNAnexus use those computational resources to run analysis programs on DNA sequence data and to store that data.[15] The product includes applications for read mapping, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and genomic variant analysis.[16]

In October 2011, following news that the National Center for Biotechnology Information would phase out funding for its Sequence Read Archive (SRA), DNAnexus said it was working with Google Cloud Storage to host a mirror of the SRA database. The SRA was started by NCBI in 2007 to collect sequence data produced by next-generation sequencing instruments.[17] DNAnexus developed a new web interface for the SRA and worked with Google to host more than 350 terabytes of DNA sequence data.[18] In June 2012, DNAnexus ceased hosting the SRA data after NCBI announced that it would continue funding for the database.[17] The company continues to provide a search and browsing interface for the NCBI-hosted SRA database.

In February 2012, the company announced a partnership with Geisinger Health System and the University of California, San Francisco, to develop the DNAnexus technology for application in clinical medicine.[19] In September 2013, the company began offering its cloud-based platform-as-a-service to clinical testing laboratories for DNA sequence data analysis.[20]

In June 2013, DNAnexus started a program to help software developers build applications that can be used on its platform.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Karow, Julia. "DNAnexus Aims to Alleviate Next-Gen Sequence Analysis Headache with Cloud-based Service." In Sequence, April 20, 2010. http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/dnanexus-aims-alleviate-next-gen-sequence-analysis-headache-cloud-based-service
  2. ^ Ricketts, Camille. "DNAnexus raises $1.55M for DNA sequencing." VentureBeat, August 3, 2009. https://venturebeat.com/2009/08/03/dnanexus-raises-155m-for-dna-sequencing/
  3. ^ In Silicon Valley, it's boom time again - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times
  4. ^ The Complete List of Employee Referral Program Best Practices (Part 1 of 2) - ERE.net
  5. ^ An Interesting Referral Incentive | Careers | GenomeWeb
  6. ^ Kincaid, Jason. "DNAnexus Raises $15 Million, Teams With Google To Host Massive DNA Database." TechCrunch, October 12, 2011. https://techcrunch.com/2011/10/12/dnanexus-raises-15-million-teams-with-google-to-host-massive-dna-database/
  7. ^ Carroll, John. "Google steps in to back a flag bearer in the genomics revolution." FierceBiotech, October 12, 2011. http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/google-steps-back-flag-bearer-genomics-revolution/2011-10-12
  8. ^ "Andreas Sundquist - Fierce's Top 10 Biotech Techies." FierceBiotech, March 2012. http://www.fiercebiotechit.com/special-reports/fierce-s-top-10-biotech-techies/andreas-sundquist-fierces-top-10-biotech-techies
  9. ^ "GEN | News Highlights:Baylor's HGSC, DNAnexus, Amazon Team Up in Cloud-Based Analysis of DNA Data". genengnews.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16.
  10. ^ Grens, Kerry. "Cloud-Based Genomics." The Scientist, October 28, 2013. http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/38044/title/Cloud-Based-Genomics/
  11. ^ Thomas, Uduak Grace. "DNANexus, Baylor Project Shows Cloud's Efficacy for Large-Scale Clinical, Research Analysis Studies." BioInform, October 25, 2013. http://www.genomeweb.com/informatics/dnanexus-baylor-project-shows-clouds-efficacy-large-scale-clinical-research-anal
  12. ^ Wheatley, Mike. "Inside the DNA of Big Data: The future of medicine & storage." Silicon Angle, November 25, 2013. http://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/11/25/inside-the-dna-of-big-data-the-future-of-medicine-storage/
  13. ^ "Google Ventures backs DNAnexus' $15M round for R&D cloud platform".
  14. ^ "DNAnexus builds online hub for scientists to store and share genetic data". 3 January 2014.
  15. ^ Harris, Derrick. "Major investments show promise of big data in biotech." GigaOm, Oct. 12, 2011. http://gigaom.com/cloud/dnanexus-cloudant-biotech-deals/
  16. ^ Thomas, Uduak. "DNAnexus Adds Variant Analysis Tool, Joins PacBio Partner Program amid Mounting Interest in Cloud." BioInform, February 04, 2011. http://www.genomeweb.com/informatics/dnanexus-adds-variant-analysis-tool-joins-pacbio-partner-program-amid-mounting-i
  17. ^ a b Announcements : Main : Sequence Read Archive : NCBI/NLM/NIH Archived February 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Company Helps Researchers Unravel DNA Mysteries Faster with Google Cloud Storage." http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/enterprise/cloud/cases/pdf/dnanexus.pdf Archived 2012-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ McBride, Ryan. "Google Ventures-backed DNAnexus forms alliance to provide genomics software to docs." FierceBiotechIT, February 14, 2012. http://www.fiercebiotechit.com/story/google-ventures-backed-dnanexus-forms-alliance-provide-genomics-software-do/2012-02-14
  20. ^ Thomas, Uduak Grace. "Sensing New Market Opportunities, DNANexus Launches PaaS for Clinical Testing Market." BioInform, September 27, 2013. http://www.genomeweb.com/informatics/sensing-new-market-opportunities-dnanexus-launches-paas-clinical-testing-market
  21. ^ "Downloads and Upgrades: DNANexus' Developer Program, Active Infrastructure for HPC Life Sciences, and more". 7 June 2013.