Doing so will draw firms closer to towards "the long-expected promise of personalised medicine," Peter Pohl, CEO of DNA sequencing and bioinformatics specialist firm, GATC Biotech, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
The falling cost of DNA sequencing is creating such opportunities for pharma companies.
"During the next ten years, we predict that industry and academia will become increasingly interested in outsourcing their DNA sequencing," said Pohl.
"Opportunities to use whole-genome sequencing in scientific research are opening up for the first time due to the development of new ultra-high-throughput sequencing technologies."
In regard to pharmacogenomics, Pohl believes that pharma firms have so far basically adopted a 'wait and see' approach. Only a few initiatives are already underway, such as the International Serious Adverse Events Consortium (SAEC), he said.
For companies wanting to make their first move into sequencing Pohl recommended two options: building an in-house group specialising in sequencing; or outsourcing the research projects to internationally, well-established companies.
Each approach has pros and cons, he added. A major problem with building up an in-house facility is the rapid pace of modern technological change. "You decide on one type of a machine and, six months later, a quicker and faster one is on the market."
On the other hand, by outsourcing to specialist firms can gain access to the most recent, validated technologies as well as to knowledge and expertise which may not be available in-house, such as in bioinformatics.
"The only disadvantage is the pharma industry may believe that having an in-house facility maintains the only way to guarantee confidentiality," said Pohl.
"However, this fear is increasingly poorly founded; internationally well-established sequencing contractors with long-term track record, have established quality control and good laboratory practice (GLP)-like standards. These guarantee confidentiality and ensure professional conduct within research programmes."
If companies do want to get involved in pharmacogenomics, Pohl recommended they sequence gene chips using modern ultra-high-throughput technologies, and combine this with "the right bioinformatics."
Genetic tests using gene chips can diagnose a very limited range of conditions, he explained. "They only analyze the 1.5 per cent of the genome that, to date, includes the genes known to be important in disease."
"However, the scientific community is increasingly coming to the conclusion that the so-called 'junk DNA' also plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression and development. These regions cannot be analyzed by genetic tests using gene chips," said Pohl.
"The analysis performed by GATC is, therefore, much more thorough."
In November GATC became the first sequencing company worldwide to offer whole human genome sequencing services to industry and academia in a bid to "boost the move towards personalised medicine by sequencing up to 100 genomes by the end of 2010".
As part of this, the firm aims to further reduce the cost of human genome sequencing from the current cost of around $5m (3.4m), to be able to offer "a quality dataset for 500", within ten years, "making it a realistic option for pharmaceutical research".
According to Professor Christof von Kalle from the German National Center for Tumor Diseases, improved access to genomic data could transform the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer.
"By sequencing and comparing genomes obtained before and after the diagnosis of cancer, researchers can gain a better understanding of the genetic basis of cancer, particularly the role of the previously understudied non-coding regions. There is growing evidence implicating these areas, which comprise 98.5 per cent of the human genome, in the onset and control of cancer."
The FDA is promoting personalised medicine as part of its 'Critical Path Initiative' to encourage innovation in drug development and GATC is forecasting an "increasing interest" its services in this field.
