Bionano Genomics (NASDAQ: BNGO) shares are surging 5.23% in pre-market trading on Monday following the announcement of a groundbreaking study that demonstrates the power of its optical genome mapping (OGM) technology in investigating neural tube defects (NTDs), one of the most common and devastating congenital conditions.

The study, published in Genome Research, revealed that Bionano's OGM technology identified structural variants (SVs) with known pathogenic significance in 8% of NTD cases, matching the combined success rate of traditional methods. More impressively, OGM detected SVs affecting genes known to be part of NTD pathways in 13% of cases and identified SVs associated with NTDs in mouse models in an additional 9% of cases. These findings suggest that OGM could potentially provide insights into the genetic factors of NTDs in up to 30% of cases, a significant improvement over current methods.

Erik Holmlin, President and CEO of Bionano, emphasized the importance of these findings, stating, "This research brings something invaluable – insights into potential genetic drivers for NTDs that may have remained unknown without OGM." The study's results highlight Bionano's technology's potential to advance understanding of complex genetic conditions and improve patient management, which is likely driving investor enthusiasm and the stock's pre-market rally.