Dive Brief:
- San Francisco-based Reference Genomics is having a big moment, as its One Codex search platform has won a CDC-sponsored contest, because of its ability to not only identify toxic strains of E. Coli, but also to log information about specific isolates.
- The One Codex platform is able to identify a toxic strain of E. Coli without relying on a fecal sample. It also facilitates tracking of infection outbreaks.
- The prize is $200,000, which will allow Reference Genomics to continue developing One Codex.
Dive Insight:
Given the fact that everyone has E. Coli present in their gut---and that it is hard to identify and isolate in a diverse microbial sample, the need for a user-friendly platform to isolate and identify the toxic E. Coli strains. Because One Codex is able to do this in a way that can be widely used, the CDC has identified Reference Genomics as a candidate for support in order to fully develop this exciting new platform.