• Average daily attendance of 565 in 2022 versus 346 in 2021
• Over 4,000 registrants with attendees represented from 82 countries
• 31 oral presentations delivered across four consecutive days
• 37 scientific posters featuring OGM in the online exhibit hall
• On-demand presentations from Symposium available for remainder of 2022
  

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bionano Genomics, Inc. (BNGO), pioneer of optical genome mapping (OGM) solutions on the Saphyr^® system and provider of N_xClinical™, the leading software solutions for visualization, interpretation and reporting of genomic data, today announced the conclusion of Bionano’s 2022 Symposium, with record daily attendance representing a 63% increase relative to last year’s event. Bionano’s premier scientific event showcasing OGM, Symposium was held January 10-13, 2022. Symposium had over 4,000 registrants from 82 countries and featured 31 oral presentations and 37 scientific posters from genomic scientists at leading institutions, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Quest Diagnostics. During this four-day online event, presenters reported on their use of OGM and its utility for genetic disease and cancer applications.

“We were impressed by the engagement at 2022 Symposium and are excited by the accomplishments of the genomic scientists from around the world who presented their data,” commented Alka Chaubey, PhD, FACMG, and Chief Medical Officer of Bionano. “Each presenter showcased how OGM can outperform legacy techniques, resolve decades-long questions in pathogenicity of genetic disease, and complement multiple sequencing-based methods. We believe the record attendance at this year’s Symposium speaks to the strong support the research community has in pushing OGM workflows forward.”

Research shared over the four-day online event expanded on several applications of OGM:

OGM can consolidate traditional cytogenetics techniques into a single assay for genetic disease and cancer applications.

• Accurate and higher resolution: Experts from multiple leading institutions demonstrated concordance of OGM with standard of care techniques and its ability to identify structural variants relevant for patient stratification and disease management.
• Cost-effective, scalable and fast turnaround times: Compared to standard of care workflows, OGM can provide laboratories with improved turnaround times and more cost-efficient processing of specimens in a more scalable approach.
• Simple and easy to implement workflow: For genetic conditions and oncology studies where karyotype and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) are the current standard of care, presenters demonstrated that OGM is ready for potential implementation into routine genome analysis for a simpler workflow than traditional techniques.
  

OGM can find more structural variants than traditional methods and next-generation sequencing (NGS).

• OGM can provide answers in many clinical research areas where structural variants have been overlooked or understudied as contributors to genetic diseases and cancer.
• Examples described by presenters spanned a wide range of disease areas including inherited retinal disease, high-risk breast cancer, pulmonary mesothelioma, and pediatric brain tumors.
• The incremental variants OGM detects can help to improve success rates for pathogenic variant finding and help solve longstanding puzzles in genetic diseases and cancer.
  

OGM in combination with NGS can provide a comprehensive, cost effective, scalable and accurate genome analysis.

• Presenters demonstrated that both sequence variants and structural variants should be routinely considered in order to capture the most comprehensive understanding of genetic variation in human health.
• Combined, OGM and NGS workflows and visualization can enable critical genetic discovery, as demonstrated by presentations on OGM’s application in hematologic malignancies and developmental disorders.
• Dr. Ravindra Kolhe, from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, presented on the benefits in combining OGM with a 523-gene NGS panel (TSO500, Illumina) to reveal the comprehensive structure of hematologic malignancy genomes. The combination resulted in additional information beyond what a smaller 54-gene panel, karyotype and FISH could detect, including single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), copy number variants (CNVs) and translocations.
  

OGM has additional potential applications in academic and commercial laboratory settings.

• Presenters from AstraZeneca, bit.bio, and UTHSC (San Antonio) shared how OGM can be used to assess the targeted integration of foreign DNA in gene therapy, enhance quality control in pluripotent stem cells, and evaluate the integrity of laboratory cell lines.
• The sensitivity of OGM, including detection of genetic variants at a single cell level, can provide a significant advantage for these applications over competitive techniques.

“The scientific quality, global representation, and engagement of researchers at this event was impressive,” commented Erik Holmlin, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bionano. “I would encourage anyone who was unable to attend live to login, view these presentations and see how we are working to change the way the world sees the genome through OGM.”

On-demand presentations are available with free registration at https://www.labroots.com/ms/virtual-event/bngo2022.

About Bionano Genomics

Bionano Genomics is a provider of genome analysis solutions that can enable researchers and clinicians to reveal answers to challenging questions in biology and medicine. The Company’s mission is to transform the way the world sees the genome through OGM solutions, diagnostic services and software. The Company offers OGM solutions for applications across basic, translational and clinical research. Through its Lineagen business, the Company also provides diagnostic testing for patients with clinical presentations consistent with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. Through its BioDiscovery business, the Company also offers an industry-leading, platform-agnostic software solution, which integrates next-generation sequencing and microarray data designed to provide analysis, visualization, interpretation and reporting of copy number variants, single-nucleotide variants and absence of heterozygosity across the genome in one consolidated view. For more information, visit www.bionanogenomics.com, www.lineagen.com or www.biodiscovery.com.

Forward-Looking Statements of Bionano Genomics

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes and are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: the clinical utility of OGM in various research and clinical applications, including treatment of cancer; the potential for OGM to replace or complement current techniques in pathogenicity, pathogenic variant finding, genetic diseases, targeted integration of foreign DNA, quality control in pluripotent stem cells and integrity of laboratory cell lines; and the ability for OGM to become part of the standard of care and to provide additional applications in academic and commercial laboratory settings. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include the risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and the global economy; general market conditions; changes in the competitive landscape including the introduction of competitive technologies or improvements in existing technologies; failure of future study results to support those demonstrated during the presentations referenced in this press release; changes in our strategic and commercial plans; our ability to obtain sufficient financing to fund our strategic plans and commercialization efforts; the ability of medical and research institutions to obtain funding to support adoption or continued use of our technologies; and the risks and uncertainties associated with our business and financial condition in general, including the risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in other filings subsequently made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.

CONTACTS
Company Contact:
Erik Holmlin, CEO
Bionano Genomics, Inc.
+1 (858) 888-7610
eholmlin@bionanogenomics.com

Investor Relations:
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
+1 (858) 366-3243
amy@juniper-point.com

Media Relations:
Michael Sullivan
Seismic
+1 (503) 799-7520
michael@teamseismic.com