Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China, November 15, 2019 – Today, Agilent Technologies and Burning Rock Dx jointly held a product launch event on Magnis BR, an automated next generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation system, to announce that Magnis BR is formally launched. As the first automated NGS library preparation system in China that supports the hybrid capture method, Burning Rock Dx and Agilent Technologies had closely collaborated on developing Magnis BR for more than two years, with a shared aim of achieving complete automation for NGS testing.

Magnis BR outperforms existing NGS automation solutions in throughput scalability and level of automation in the testing process. This instrument is expected to bring high-quality, standardized NGS-based diagnostics tests to hospital labs, enabling them to generate reports in as short as 3 days, thus helping doctors develop personalized treatment plans based on the NGS testing results in a much more efficient way.

Library preparation is an important step in the NGS workflow and the quality of libraries has a critical impact on final sequencing results. The manual library preparation method often requires numerous steps and a relatively long time (about 24-36 hours) with the output library quality highly dependent on the technical expertise and experience of the laboratory staff. Automating the NGS library preparation significantly reduces variability introduced by human errors and decreases hands-on time, ensuring more accurate and timely results.

NGS target enrichment library preparation is typically performed using one of two methods, namely multiplex PCR amplification and probe-based hybrid capture. The hybrid capture-based target enrichment platform is more amenable to develop large NGS panels that include hundreds of genes needed for the detection of multiple types of genetic variants and immunotherapy-associated markers like TMB and MSI. This enables the personalized clinical management of patients that include targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and dynamic monitoring over disease progression. Burning Rock’s NGS-based panels are widely used for cancer diagnostics in China and are developed using hybrid capture-based target enrichment.

Magnis BR: an innovative automated solution for NGS

1.   90% reduction in hands-on time

Magnis BR is an automated NGS library preparation system based on the hybrid capture target enrichment platform, which effectively addresses the complex and tedious steps in the manual protocol, reducing hands-on time by 90%, and providing complete “walk-away” operability.

2.   Enabling hospitals to generate reports within 3 days

Magnis BR decreases NGS library preparation time from 24-36 hours required for the manual protocol to just 9 hours and enables hospital labs to generate reports in as short as 3 days, overcoming the greatest challenge of time-to-results in the clinical application of NGS.

3.   Accurate and reliable results

Comprehensive performance verification using Magnis BR showed a 40% increase on DNA conversion rate and robust reproducibility on coverage uniformity.

4.   Scalable throughput, with each machine processing up to 112 samples per week

Magnis BR processes 8 samples per run and up to 112 samples per week. By adjusting the frequency of operation, a single Magnis BR system can meet different testing volume requirements of hospital labs, according to the differentiated demand of different hospitals or different development stages of the same hospital for the NGS sample sizes.

5.   45% reduction in overall lab space requirement

With a size of 0.317m³, the compact, flexible and functional Magnis BR can effectively reduce the overall space use in the NGS lab by 45%.

Magnis BR, "Futuristic Technology" that brings NGS testing to more hospitals

With the rapid development of precision oncology, an increasing number of biomarkers are being included in Chinese and international medical treatment guidelines, gradually making large multi-gene NGS tests a routine tool for cancer diagnosis. With the expansion of the national medical insurance policy, and increased accessibility to cancer therapeutic drugs, Magnis BR, an NGS automated library preparation system, is expected to help lower the barrier to NGS adoption in the hospital labs, providing doctors with high-quality reports that help guide treatment selection faster.

Kevin Corcoran, Agilent Vice President and General Manager of the Biomolecular Analysis Division of Agilent’s Diagnostics and Genomics Group, said: " Agilent and Burning Rock have a long-standing partnership working together to develop NGS-based cancer diagnostics tailored for the Chinese market. Three years ago, we started in-depth collaboration with Burning Rock on developing cancer panels based on Agilent SureSelect technology that led to the approval of China’s first NGS-based companion diagnostic kit for non-small cell lung cancer. Today, we are pleased to witness another milestone with the launch of the Magnis BR NGS Prep System, which enhances run-to-run reproducibility and performance, whilst significantly reducing the time and effort needed for sample preparation. Burning Rock is one of the top cancer diagnostics companies in China with the largest network of NGS-testing labs in hospitals all over the country, and Agilent is very pleased to have collaborated so closely with Burning Rock on the Magnis BR to enable the delivery of solutions that will transform precision oncology in China."

Han Yusheng, Founder and CEO of Burning Rock Dx, said: "Burning Rock Dx and Agilent Technologies have maintained a friendly partnership for a long time. Two years ago, we deepened our cooperation and developed the Magnis BR to resolve the bottleneck of NGS library preparation. Burning Rock Dx has become an NGS testing institution, establishing the largest number of joint platforms with hospital labs across China. Our automated sequencing platform, as well as automated analysis and report generation system have been successfully adopted in many hospitals and are clinically recognized. The launch of Magnis BR will help us achieve the goal of complete NGS workflow automation in the hospitals that collaborate with Burning Rock Dx and significantly reduce the time taken to generate NGS reports. In the future, we will develop more high-quality products based on unmet clinical needs allowing NGS testing to benefit more cancer patients."

About Burning Rock

Founded in 2014, Burning Rock Biotech is specialized in NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing) diagnostics solutions for precision medicine in oncology. Thus far, Burning Rock has developed many products for different cancer types and clinical applications.

Besides providing NGS test services in an LDT model, Burning Rock also pioneers in providing one-stop NGS platform solutions and enabling high-quality NGS tests at hospitals’ pathology labs, which will benefit more patients in the long run. With the first NMPA (National Medical Products Administration)-approved NGS kit in China, strategic collaborations with Agilent, PerkinElmer, Illumina, Qiagen, and numerous pharmaceutical companies, Burning Rock is dedicated to developing innovative and reliable NGS diagnostics products to benefit cancer patients.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. With more than 50 years of insight and innovation, Agilent instruments, software, services, solutions, and people provide trusted answers to customers' most challenging questions. The company generated revenues of $4.91 billion in fiscal 2018 and employs 15,300 people worldwide. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.