Ultima Genomics releases groundbreaking TRACERx MRD data showing ppmSeq performance and unveils clinical progress of whole genome sequencing at inaugural global MRD Symposium at AACR 2026

• Presenting initial TRACERx MRD data showcasing low single-digit parts-per-million   sensitivity for ctDNA detection with ppmSeq 
• Additional collaborations also demonstrate ultra-sensitive detection through a simple whole genome sequencing workflow, enabling rapid deployment in a global setting
• Announcement of inaugural global symposium to discuss the state of MRD testing and how whole genome sequencing and ppmSeq are accelerating global adoption   

FREMONT, Calif., April 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ultima Genomics, a developer of an innovative, ultra-high throughput sequencing architecture today announced key milestones for its ppmSeq® technology with a growing body of evidence from data presented across six abstracts, including an oral session and a plenary session at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting in San Diego, taking place April 17–22, 2026. Highlighting the program will be initial TRACERx MRD data showcasing the performance of ppmSeq relative to ultrasensitive bespoke panels. Data from collaborators, including LabCorp and DELFI Diagnostics, will also be presented at the conference. Collectively, these add to the growing body of evidence establishing ppmSeq as a new standard for ultrasensitive MRD, providing low single-digit parts-per-million sensitivity, with a simple, scalable, and distributable whole genome workflow that can be deployed globally.

“We built ppmSeq to find tumor-derived molecules in a sea of normal DNA, without the need to produce a customized assay for every patient,” said Gilad Almogy, Founder and CEO of Ultima Genomics. “The data presented at AACR this week demonstrate these capabilities and point toward a future where whole-genome MRD is the standard of care for patients globally.”

Ultima showcases low single-digit parts-per-million accuracy across tumor types to be shown at AACR 2026

Today, Ultima is showcasing low single-digit parts-per-million levels of accuracy across tumor types, which include samples from the TRACERx (TRAcking Cancer Evolution through therapy (Rx)) cancer program, one of the largest tumor evolution studies funded by Cancer Research UK to generate deep sequencing multi-region and multi-time-point genetic data from over 3,200 tumor samples from over 800 lung cancer patients.

Led by Professor Charles Swanton (UCL / Cancer Research UK / The Francis Crick Institute), an early validation pilot of ppmSeq across 50 plasma samples — using tumor-specific variants identified from prior whole genome sequencing — achieved high analytical sensitivity for ctDNA detection at low single-digit parts-per-million, without the complexity of bespoke panel approaches. Results will be presented at a plenary and a late-breaking oral session during the conference.

“TRACERx has always followed the science of cancer evolution wherever it leads,” said Charles Swanton, Deputy Clinical Director at The Francis Crick Institute. “Improving the sensitivity of ctDNA detection is central to the wider ambition for MRD monitoring, and expanding studies across a broader patient population will give us the statistical power and clinical context to determine how whole genome MRD monitoring can be deployed at NHS scale and beyond.”

“The ability to perform personalized, tumor-guided ctDNA detection at parts-per-million sensitivity — without bespoke panel design and production — fundamentally changes what is achievable in lung cancer MRD monitoring,” said Dan A. Landau, MD, PhD, a core member at the New York Genome Center, and Professor of Medicine & Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Additional work will assess prognostic performance at scale, and with the created dataset, explore tumor-agnostic MRD approaches that require no prior knowledge of a patient’s tumor mutational profile. Follow-up data will be presented later in 2026.

Other collaborators, including Labcorp and DELFI Diagnostics, to present data addressing clinical implementation of ppmSeq and enablement of new applications at AACR 2026

In addition to the TRACERx data, important collaborators will showcase the clinical implementation and real-world deployment of ppmSeq whole genome sequencing, including:

Labcorp: Analytical performance of an ultrasensitive whole genome sequencing assay for molecular residual disease detection – Poster No. 5307/2

Labcorp will present data from an independent analytical study of an assay developed in coordination with ppmSeq technology, including the performance across multiple solid tumor types in pre-surgical, treatment-naive plasma samples. This analysis of 120 non-cancerous donor samples showed specificity exceeding 99.9%, underscoring the ability of ppmSeq whole genome sequencing to accurately differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous samples, minimizing false positives. Additional analysis across three commercially available cancer cell lines spanning 13 concentration levels from 0.5 to 500 parts per million showed a 95% limit of detection below 3 ppm, demonstrating the assay’s capacity to detect ultra-low levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Collectively, these results represent a significant milestone in the transition from research-grade performance to clinical-grade reliability.

“The whole genome approach enabled by ppmSeq changes the operational efficiency for tumor-informed MRD testing in a reference laboratory setting,” said Taylor Jensen, Ph.D., Vice President and Head of Oncology Science at Labcorp. “Eliminating the need for individualized design and physical production of a panel while maintaining low single-digit parts-per-million analytical sensitivity is the kind of advancement that makes broad clinical deployment feasible, and the analytical data we are presenting at AACR support a compelling case for WGS-based MRD as a scalable solution.”

DELFI: Enhanced cfDNA fragmentation-based treatment monitoring on the Ultima Genomics platform – Abstract No. 3863/24

This study examined the performance of DELFI-TF, a cfDNA fragmentation-based tool for monitoring cancer treatment response, across Ultima vs Illumina platforms. Fragmentation profiles were consistent across platforms, and Ultima-based DELFI-TF values strongly tracked tumor burden and longitudinal treatment response. Notably, combining DELFI-TF with Ultima’s ppmSeq enabled distinction of tumor- from normal-derived DNA fragments, opening a path toward improved ctDNA detection sensitivity.

Labcorp: Utility of TAPS+: a positive-readout methylation sequencing approach for high-fidelity epigenetic profiling – Poster No. 3213/23

This study evaluated the TAPS+ workflow from Watchmaker Genomics on a 24-sample cohort of invasive breast carcinoma patients and healthy donors. TAPS+ demonstrated higher library yields, shorter turnaround times, and enabled the identification of more potentially relevant differentially methylated regions, in addition to a higher rate of DNA methylation observed in fully methylated control samples (88.8% vs. 76.8%). Importantly, TAPS+ libraries sequenced on the Ultima Genomics UG 100^® platform showed equivalent methylation patterns, conversion efficiency, and transcription sites (TSS) profiles to those generated on an alternative sequencing platform, validating cross-platform reproducibility. Together, these results position TAPS+ with Ultima WGS as a robust, platform-agnostic epigenetic profiling method suitable for clinical assay development and early cancer detection.

Ultima announces inaugural global MRD Symposium focused on the current and future state of minimal residual disease detection technologies and utility in clinical practice

Prior to AACR, Ultima Genomics will co-host its inaugural global MRD symposium alongside Dan Landau and Charles Swanton. This exclusive event will bring together leaders in oncology research to discuss clinical adoption of MRD globally, and novel sequencing approaches that provide ultra-sensitive detection, and will feature a short series of selected presentations from key experts in the pharmaceutical, translational, and research fields.

Registration and details are available at: www.ultimagenomics.com/mrd-symposium

Summary of selected presentations at AACR:

About Ultima Genomics
Ultima Genomics is unleashing the power of genomics at scale. The Company’s mission is to continuously drive the scale of genomic information to enable unprecedented advances in biology and improvements in human health. With humanity on the cusp of a biological revolution, there is a virtually endless need for more genomic information to address biology’s complexity and dynamic change—and a further need to challenge conventional next-generation sequencing technologies. Ultima’s revolutionary new sequencing architecture drives down the costs of sequencing to help overcome the tradeoffs that scientists and clinicians are forced to make between the breadth, depth and frequency with which they use genomic information. The new sequencing architecture was designed to scale far beyond conventional sequencing technologies, lower the cost of genomic information, and catalyze the next phase of genomics in the 21st century. To learn more, visit www.ultimagenomics.com

Ultima Media Contact
Vikki Herrera
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