24 September 2020 - - UK-based digital health company Congenica has launched a new module for its genomic analysis platform that will accelerate research into the relationship between an individual's genomic variation and COVID-19 susceptibility, severity, and clinical outcomes, the company said.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic outbreak, the global research community has united in an unprecedented effort to understand the causes, progression, treatment, and prevention of the disease.

Initial studies indicate a variety of factors socioeconomics, pre-existing medical conditions and genetics all play their part.

Research studies are providing evidence of the importance of specific variations in host genes related to SARS-CoV-2 viral entry, viral replication, and immune response.

By applying expertise to a thorough review of the most up-to-date research, Congenica has carefully curated genes that have high-confidence relationships with coronavirus infection and replication progression and subsequent immune response and severity.

The launch of the Congenica COVID-19 module, available within the company's genomic analysis software platform, will enable researchers to focus analysis on the host genetics that underpin COVID-19 infection using high-quality sets of relevant genes.

The module also allows investigators to prioritize variants in curated genes using COVID-19-related Human Phenotype Ontology terms such as loss of smell or dry cough and to include information about viral strain or treatment regimen, incorporating the latest findings from the growing scientific literature to aid research.

Congenica software is used throughout the UK NHS as the exclusive rare disease Clinical Decision Support Platform for the first-in-the-world national Genomic Medicine Service and internationally by private and public hospitals and laboratories, where the software reduces average interpretation costs by up to 95% and helps researchers obtain genetic information 20-times faster than previously possible.

Congenica is a digital health company enabling genomic medicine with the world's leading platform for the rapid interpretation of complex genomic data.

Congenica software supports researchers with a 30% higher analytical yield than industry averages and enables genomic data analysis to be performed 20x faster, reducing genomic interpretation costs by up to 95%.

Born out of pioneering research from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the NHS, Congenica has a global footprint supporting international laboratories, academic medical centers and biopharmaceutical companies and is the exclusive Clinical Decision Support partner for the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.