Towards India’s own standard genome sequence – Telangana Today

Indian company to collect genomic code of 1 lakh Asians, including over 30,000 Indians from various parts of the country

Hyderabad: Imagine a repository of over 30,000 Indian genomes covering a wide variety of groups from various regions and ethnic backgrounds accessible to researchers and healthcare providers.

Such a large Indian genomic data will not only enable researchers in finding the patterns of how genes are expressed but also can help in spotting mutations, which could be the answer for personalized therapy protocols for cancer patients, cardio-vascular ailments, end-stage kidney ailments and many more.

An Indian company along with several others in Asia has taken up this amibtious project to collect the genomic code of a whopping 1 lakh Asians, which also includes over 30,000 Indians from various parts of the country.

In the past, there have been isolated attempts at finding genomic sequence of one or two Indian groups but this is for the first time that a concerted effort is being taken up to collect the genome sequence of such a large set of population.

Standard genome Indian researchers need to have access to standard Indian genomic data to isolate the genes responsible for causing ailments among Indians. Almost all the medical standards, for instance ideal BP levels, sugar levels or anything else is based on Caucasian population. In the coming years, we intend to sequence genome of Indians and hopefully reach towards a standardized Indian genome, says CEO (India), MedGenome, Girish Mehta.

Talking to Telangana Today, Mehta said that MedGenome, a Bengaluru-based company, has already committed US$ 10 million for the project. The overall cost of the 1 lakh Asian genome is close to Rs. 100 crore or over 120 million US dollars.

We are collaborating with Singapore and South East Asian biotech companies to take part in preparing this genomic sequence. This will be very important because we will not only get to know the standard Indian genome but also the Asian genomic sequence, which is vital to form new treatment protocols, Mehta said, during a visit to Hyderabad.

Back in 2014, the United Kingdom had launched its own 1 lakh genome project and similar projects are under way in Qatar, Europe and the US.

Unfortunately, we are second largest population but we still do not have our own standard genome code. Earlier, genome sequencing of a single human being was very expensive but technology is rapidly making it very affordable. This is a four-year project and hopefully it should be completed in time, Mehta added.

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Towards India's own standard genome sequence - Telangana Today