Mission 2022 – To achieve the unachievable

Today, HiGenoMB® is synonymous to being the brand leader for molecular biology products as it caters to any requirement from genomics to proteomics including molecular biology instruments, extraction and PCR kits, chemicals, reagents and nanoparticles. After conquering the world with molecular biology products, HiGenoMB® now ventures into the service industry with its HiGx360 sequencing and bioinformatics services. HiMedia Laboratories began as a manufacturer and global supplier of microbiology culture media almost five decades ago with the idea of providing the best quality materials required to work with microbial cultures. As science evolved, there was a need to get to the molecular level to understand the potential of basic molecules, i.e., DNA and RNA. With a greed to discover the power of molecular testing not only in clinical diagnostics but also across food, biopharma, forensic and other industries, the molecular biology division of HiMedia®, HiGenoMB® was formed.

The current Covid-19 pandemic have stressed upon the capability of molecular methods in combatting the spread of this deadly virus. Two most promising methods that have come to rescue are undeniably, RT-PCR and DNA sequencing. The new age of molecular techniques – Sequencing is all about going back to the roots to perform the deepest level of analysis and determine the order of nucleotides on DNA. This helps one to understand the epidemiology of virus transmission and to identify the different variants of this virus.

Today, there is another variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Omicron variant that is wreaking havoc on the planet. Another concern is the inability of the existing diagnostic kits to detect this variant by RT-PCR because a few gene targets, namely, S-gene and more rarely, the N-gene do not show any amplification due to a mutation within their primer binding regions. How does one get to know this? Well, thanks to DNA sequencing and bioinformatic analyses which have empowered us to study the viral genome in greater depths. Sequencing in all its available forms was envisioned as a value addition to all branches of biological sciences and public health. The possibilities that DNA sequencing offers are enormous.

What started as a hazardous radioactivity-based method requiring specialized skills stretching up to two days to generate a mere 100-200 bases of sequence has today matured into a simpler, non-hazardous and a user-friendly technology that can generate up to 6000 gigabases (Gb) of data per run in about two days with 99.9 percent accuracy. It has been at the forefront of verifying and putting to rest many outstanding research questions. However, quality sequencing and bioinformatics has remained inaccessible to many scientific communities due to the costs it entails and the lack of analytical expertise. Further, with increasing emphasis on the need for robust reproducible scientific analysis, the time is right for a grass roots revolution in sequencing.

At a time when the automation in molecular biology was very challenging, HiMedia took the world by storm with its thermal cyclers and automated extractors. We are now ready to dive deeper and rise higher to create an impact in the scientific service sector with our Hi-Gx360™ offering. As we take on the mantle for developing completely indigenous sequencing and bioinformatics services, we aim to provide the best services at an affordable cost to the community. A state-of-the-art platform equipped with both Sanger and Next Generation sequencing facilities has been set up at HiMedia® headquarters in Mumbai. A key feature of Hi-Gx360™ services is that it will be customizable to the needs of specific projects, with a minimum turnaround time and user data is not uploaded to the cloud servers for analyses, hence more secure. Our pallet of bioinformatics services include:

• Whole genome and metagenome analysis;
• Phylogenomics including pan-genome analysis;
• Microbiome and transcriptome profiling;
• Phylogenetic analysis;
• In-silico genome isolation for mixed cultures; and
• Natural product discovery.

With a very proficient team of sequencing experts and skilled bioinformatics analysts, HiMedia® looks forward to help you unravel all the hardships of NGS, Sanger sequencing and provide a meaningful and in-depth informatics with our Hi-Gx360™ technology.