Standard BioTools Inc. has announced a major collaboration with Singapore's Precision Health Research initiative (PRECISE-SG100K), which selected the company's SomaScan 11K Assay to analyze 100,000 plasma samples from the PRECISE-SG100K biobank. The partnership represents one of the world's most ambitious population health research programs and underscores the growing role of proteomics in precision medicine.
Comprehensive Platform Evaluation Leads to SomaScan Selection
Following a comprehensive evaluation of competitive proteomics offerings, PRECISE-SG100K chose SomaScan based on its combination of unmatched proteome coverage, superior reproducibility, and high-quality service offering. The platform was positioned as delivering the greatest overall value to this landmark initiative.
"Our vision is to shape the future of precision medicine through one of the world's most ambitious population health research programs," said Professor John Chambers, Chief Scientific Officer of PRECISE and Lead Investigator of SG100K population cohort study. "Realizing the full potential of a biobank initiative like PRECISE-SG100K requires moving beyond measuring a limited set of proteins in new samples to truly enable the discovery of novel genetic associations and biomarkers."
Advancing Population-Scale Proteomics Research
The PRECISE-SG100K project aims to transform healthcare in Singapore and improve patient outcomes through data-driven solutions. The initiative draws on Singapore's multi-ethnic population with supporting data from participant questionnaires and extensive participant health insights, making it one of the world's largest and most impactful population health research studies.
Stephen Williams, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Standard BioTools, emphasized the critical importance of platform selection for biobank research. "Biobank investigators are advancing our knowledge about the biology of diverse populations around the world using proteomics. Platform choice is mission critical for these researchers and needs to be focused on throughput, reproducibility and depth of measurement," Williams said. "The SomaScan Platform was designed to provide the highest coverage, with the best precision, making it ideally suited for biobanks and population health studies."
Expanding Global Biobank Portfolio
Standard BioTools has established itself as a leader in population proteomics, with SomaScan having been used in more than 30 biobank studies worldwide. The company has seen significant growth in this sector, with three major additions this year totaling nearly 160,000 samples.
Recent collaborations include BioAge Labs' announcement in June to use SomaScan technology to profile more than 17,000 samples from the HUNT Biobank in Norway to further understand the biology of human aging with the goal of developing therapeutics for metabolic diseases. In January, Illumina and biopharma collaborators launched a pilot proteomics program to analyze 50,000 UK Biobank samples leveraging the new Illumina Protein Prep NGS-based proteomics platform, powered by Standard BioTools' SOMAmer technology.
Transforming Precision Medicine Through Proteomics
The SG100K study represents a long-term project focusing on the health and well-being of Singapore's diverse, multi-ethnic population. The study aims to engage over 100,000 participants and collect baseline health information and biological specimens. Researchers will monitor long-term health outcomes and identify environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors associated with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
Population proteomics studies are generating new datasets that enable a more comprehensive overview of the dynamics of protein expression in a wide range of biological samples such as plasma, serum, urine and CSF. These studies reveal new insights into gene-to-protein correlations, novel biology, mechanisms of action and new therapeutic targets.
The PRECISE initiative coordinates Singapore's National Precision Medicine Phase II programme, a multi-institutional collaboration including A*STAR, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, National Healthcare Group, National University Health System, National University of Singapore, and SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre. The programme studies the genetic makeup of 100,000 Singaporeans to improve healthcare outcomes through Asian genome insights while also aiming to grow Singapore's precision medicine industry by attracting international companies and creating opportunities for local enterprises.
