Adventitious Agent Testing By NGS: A Comprehensive Solution With Targeted And Non-Targeted Methods

Ensuring viral safety during biologics development requires methods that are both scientifically rigorous and capable of detecting a wide range of potential contaminants. Advances in next‑generation sequencing (NGS) now offer a modern alternative to long‑standing in vivo assays, enabling highly sensitive detection through both broad, non‑targeted approaches and precise, targeted workflows. Non‑targeted NGS casts a wide net across the transcriptome to uncover known and novel adventitious agents, while targeted NGS enhances sensitivity for species‑specific viruses and provides sequence‑level clarity that traditional assays cannot match. Together, these molecular strategies strengthen risk assessment, streamline workflows, and align with evolving regulatory expectations such as ICH Q5A(R2). For teams working with rodent‑derived cell lines, the updated tNGS‑enabled rodent virus panel offers expanded coverage, faster turnaround, and improved data confidence.

Explore the full white paper to see how modern NGS methods are shaping the future of viral safety testing.