BGI Genomics advances precision medicine in Argentina, Brazil and Chile

BGI Genomics recently joined a mission business to South America in April 2023. Given that this continent ranks fourth in area and fifth in population worldwide, the economic and healthcare enhancement potential of this continent is compelling. 

Every South American country faces different healthcare challenges and priorities. Still, the promise of precision medicine is clear: It offers an opportunity to shift the delivery of care from a legacy one-size-fits-all approach to applying the right treatment for the right patient at the right time.

To help deliver on precision medicine's potential, BGI Genomics considers genetic testing to be pivotal to the medical screening, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. As a leading integrated solutions provider of precision medicine, the company looks forward to long-term cooperation with leading local partners to further enhance health outcomes.

At the China-Brazil Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference in the city of Sao Paulo, BGI Genomics and Brazlex Medical Genetics, a leader in medical testing in the country, signed a cooperation agreement on April 17, agreeing to long-term cooperation in clinical medical testing and introducing the company's products and services to the Brazilian market, such as prenatal screening and cancer tumor screening.

Subsequently, on April 17, the company signed a substantial order with Biogenar, a leading precision medicine service provider in Argentina, which plans to purchase a large-scale high-throughput sequencing platform system and related automation equipment for local scientific research and enhance clinical services.

BGI Genomics has also reached a cooperation agreement with diagnostic service carrier Biocodices will provide a complete set of non-invasive prenatal genetic testing equipment and solutions to this Buenos Aires-based company. With this partnership, testing is done locally instead of sending samples to overseas laboratories, thus reducing the cost for local pregnant women and helping Argentina improve maternal health services.

The Precision Oncology Center of Universidad Mayor, a leading Chilean university, also obtained two cutting-edge sequencers and other equipment from BGI Genomics. This partnership will help launch Chile's most extensive cancer genomics laboratory. The signing ceremony of this agreement was held on April 18, attended by the Vice Chancellor of Research, Nicole Trefault, and the general manager for Latin America, BGI Genomics, Liang Wu.

Dr. Patricio Manque, Scientific Director of the Center, highlights that this is a new step in expanding its capacities. "The Precision Oncology Center puts medicine at the service of the people in an unprecedented effort to move towards democratizing access to frontier medical treatments in the area of cancer, the leading cause of death in our country. We now can rely on the most important sequencing laboratory in Chile with equipment that allows analysis to be carried out in greater depth, in less time, and at a lower cost."

Liang Wu notes that the company seeks to benefit the local population by elevating technological health standards, "Over the past few years, we have embarked on a series of collaborative projects in Latin America, yielding remarkable outcomes. Our collaborations encompass establishing laboratories, providing technical support, and implementing training programs."

About BGI Genomics

BGI Genomics, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is the world's leading integrated solutions provider of precision medicine. Our services cover over 100 countries and regions, involving more than 2,300 medical institutions. In July 2017, as a subsidiary of BGI Group, BGI Genomics (300676.SZ) was officially listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

 

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