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Review
. 2021 Jul;53(7):942-948.
doi: 10.1038/s41588-021-00885-0. Epub 2021 Jun 28.

Advancing human genetics research and drug discovery through exome sequencing of the UK Biobank

Joseph D Szustakowski  1 , Suganthi Balasubramanian  2 , Erika Kvikstad  1 , Shareef Khalid  2 , Paola G Bronson  3 , Ariella Sasson  1 , Emily Wong  4 , Daren Liu  2 , J Wade Davis  5 , Carolina Haefliger  6 , A Katrina Loomis  7 , Rajesh Mikkilineni  4 , Hyun Ji Noh  5 , Samir Wadhawan  1 , Xiaodong Bai  2 , Alicia Hawes  2 , Olga Krasheninina  2 , Ricardo Ulloa  2 , Alex E Lopez  2 , Erin N Smith  4 , Jeffrey F Waring  5 , Christopher D Whelan  3 , Ellen A Tsai  3 , John D Overton  2 , William J Salerno  2 , Howard Jacob  5 , Sandor Szalma  4 , Heiko Runz  3 , Gregory Hinkle  8 , Paul Nioi  8 , Slavé Petrovski  6 , Melissa R Miller  7 , Aris Baras  2 , Lyndon J Mitnaul  2 , Jeffrey G Reid  9 ; UKB-ESC Research Team
Collaborators, Affiliations
Review

Advancing human genetics research and drug discovery through exome sequencing of the UK Biobank

Joseph D Szustakowski et al. Nat Genet. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

The UK Biobank Exome Sequencing Consortium (UKB-ESC) is a private-public partnership between the UK Biobank (UKB) and eight biopharmaceutical companies that will complete the sequencing of exomes for all ~500,000 UKB participants. Here, we describe the early results from ~200,000 UKB participants and the features of this project that enabled its success. The biopharmaceutical industry has increasingly used human genetics to improve success in drug discovery. Recognizing the need for large-scale human genetics data, as well as the unique value of the data access and contribution terms of the UKB, the UKB-ESC was formed. As a result, exome data from 200,643 UKB enrollees are now available. These data include ~10 million exonic variants-a rich resource of rare coding variation that is particularly valuable for drug discovery. The UKB-ESC precompetitive collaboration has further strengthened academic and industry ties and has provided teams with an opportunity to interact with and learn from the wider research community.

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