Credence Genomics to offer ‘Scientific Horoscopes’

Monday, 16 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dr. Vaz Santosh Gnanam, Raj K. Omprasadham, Ananda Atukorale and Malaka Talwatta Medical history will be created in Sri Lanka when Credence Genomics, the country’s first and only commercial biotechnology venture, equipped with Next Generation Sequencing technology is launched on Friday 20th. The farsighted team behind this pioneering venture – Dr. Vaz Santosh Gnanam, Raj K. Omprasadham, Ananda Atukorale and Malaka Talwatta – have succeeded where few have dared to venture and are the first such entity in Sri Lanka, and in fact are amongst a handful in the world to enter this field. “As the founders of Credence Genomics, it is our business objective to become a global player in Genomics through the research, design and development of Genome based products and services,” said Dr. Vaz Gnanam. Credence Genomics has developed a vast range of commercial Genomic products for various industries that include bacterial and fungi testing using the latest Metagenomic techniques. Credence Genomics focuses on predictive and preventive testing to improve and enhance life expectancy. The comprehensive sequencing and bioinformatics services offered by the company are available for various commercial sciences, medical, agricultural, marine, as well as environmental applications. “In short it is your scientific horoscope,” says Dr. Gnanam. In Sri Lanka for the launch will be Dr. Michael Paumen, Senior Director of Medical Sciences of Asia Pacific and Japan, Life Sciences Solutions, Thermo Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of $ 17 billion and approximately 50,000 employees in 50 countries. Thermo Fisher are the equipment providers to Credence Genomics and their premier brands include Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services. Dr. Paumen will introduce the potential and capabilities of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Ion Torrent NGS technologies in the clinical environment, with a focus on oncology. As the pioneer biotech venture in the country, Credence Genomics will become the first-ever provider in Sri Lanka to offer predictive, preventive and personalised healthcare solutions to the market. The company aims to be the primary alternative to the existing, reactive provider centric health care model in the country by delivering personalised medicine, tailor made according to the genomic profile of the patient, and provide the most efficacious, cost effective treatment options. The goal of Credence Genomics’ predictive medicine project is to predict the specific probability of future disease so the health-care professionals and the patient themselves can be proactive in instituting lifestyle modifications and increase the physician surveillance if an individual is found to have an increased risk of developing a specific disease: hence your ‘Scientific Horoscope’. Credence Genomics will be officially launched at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on 20 February at 5 p.m.