Tech-enabled transplant company CareDx announced a strategic partnership with Dovetail Genomics to push the next wave of innovation in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping for organ and stem cell transplant matching.

The partnership will enable HLA labs to take part in an early access program utilizing CareDx's NGS-based AlloSeq Tx 17 HLA typing solution that will include Dovetail Genomics' Hi-C LinkPrep technology to attain high-resolution genotyping and haplotyping. However, the need for family genotyping studies will not be necessary.

The two companies contend that successful long-term donor-recipient matching can be improved with the addition of haplotyping.

The company describes LinkPrep as a method for creating thorough HLA haplotypes. It uses short-read sequencing technology to give direct phasing information from linked long-range reads without relying on any imputation approaches. 

As a result, it enables long distance inter-locus phasing and haplotype determination. 

The blending of AlloSeq Tx with LinkPrep gives researchers the chance to assess the benefits of high-precision and comprehensive HLA haplotypes for donor-recipient matching.

"This collaboration reflects CareDx’s commitment to innovation in the transplant field, highlighted by our industry first with AlloSeq Tx 17, the first HLA typing solution to cover 17 loci," John Hanna, CareDx president and CEO, said in a statement. 

"Through this partnership, HLA labs will gain early access to cutting-edge solutions, positioning them at the forefront of evaluating innovative donor-recipient matching methods."

Matt Easterday, CEO of Dovetail Genomics, noted that Dovetail Genomic’s LinkPrep technology’s unique ability to capture haplotype-aware genetic variation would be a game-changer for applications like HLA testing.

"The ability to haplotype through the entire HLA region offers the transplant community an important new tool for optimizing transplant matching," Easterday said in a statement.

THE LARGER TREND

In 2021, CareDx acquired Transplant Hero, the manufacturer of an app that helps people receiving new organs remember to take their medication. 

CareDx has an app called AlloCare that is designed to help patients manage their health after they receive a transplant. Transplant Hero's tool builds out CareDx's cloud-based products, which cater to patients, dialysis providers and transplant centers.

In 2022, Dovetail Genomics joined forces with Arc Bio, a sibling company that offers metagenomic microbial detection technology, to form Cantata Bio. In addition, Cantata launched a Tn5 transposase-based proximity ligation assay, which the firm said cuts sample prep time from two days to six hours.

That same year, Element Biosciences partnered with Dovetail Genomics with the aim of demonstrating the value and performance of Dovetail’s proximity ligation-based next-generation sequencing library prep solutions on Element’s AVITI System.