Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 24: In a significant stride for India's genomic research landscape, Oxford Nanopore Technologies has signed Letters of Intent with two premier Indian research institutions — BRIC-CDFD (Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics) and BRIC-NIBMG (National Institute of Biomedical Genomics) — to establish Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in genomics.

Announced in the presence of DBT Secretary Dr Rajesh Gokhale, the initiative is set to catalyse India's capabilities in rare disease diagnostics, cancer research, infectious disease surveillance, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitoring. The CoEs will also focus on skilling and advanced training in sequencing technologies, strengthening India’s scientific infrastructure.

Under this collaboration:

• BRIC-CDFD will deploy Oxford Nanopore’s cutting-edge sequencing platforms for rare disease research, clinical diagnostics, and forensic biotechnology. A core emphasis will be on capacity building via an expanded Skill Development Centre.

• BRIC-NIBMG will integrate the technology into multi-omics research with applications in oral cancer, newborn screening, and AMR surveillance, in line with the ‘One Health’ approach.

Oxford Nanopore CEO Gordon Sanghera CBE remarked, “These Centres of Excellence represent a long-term commitment to India and the growing UK-India life sciences partnership.”

The collaboration is aligned with bilateral efforts like the 2025 UK-India Health and Life Sciences MoU and the 2024 UK-India Technology Security Initiative, reinforcing the two nations’ shared goals in global health and biotechnology.

With a new Bengaluru office opening later this year, Oxford Nanopore is set to deeply embed itself in India’s scientific ecosystem, advancing genomic innovation and public health readiness.