GenomOncology Adds Jalapheno to Pathology Workbench

The integration brings ARUP Laboratories' phenotype-driven gene prioritization tool to all GenomOncology customers under a multiyear exclusive agreement.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Biotech

Flat-color editorial illustration of sample tubes in a steel rack beside a centrifuge rotor on a laboratory bench, representing pathology software for genomic variant review. — GenomOncology will license Jalapheno, ARUP Laboratories' phenotype-driven gene prioritization tool, and integrate it into its GO Pathology Workbench under an undisclosed multiyear exclusive agreement. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

GenomOncology will license and distribute Jalapheno, a phenotype-driven gene prioritization tool developed by ARUP Laboratories with the University of Utah, through its GO Pathology Workbench platform. Specific terms of the multiyear exclusive agreement were not disclosed.

Why it matters

The integration places gene prioritization directly inside a widely used pathology workflow, making phenotype-matched variant review available to all GenomOncology customers. It also adds optional AI-driven variant classification and interpretation features to the same platform.

Gene-level phenotype-matching scores derived from patient HPO terms feed the variant prioritization algorithm, which auto-classifies prioritized variants under ACMG categories using a custom AI-enhanced algorithm. The platform also supports ClinGen annotations and whole exome and whole genome workflows, but no accuracy benchmarks were disclosed.

The players

GenomOncology

GenomOncology is a Cleveland-based company that provides software platforms for molecular and pathology laboratories, including GO Pathology Workbench.

ARUP Laboratories

ARUP Laboratories is a nonprofit reference laboratory affiliated with the University of Utah that develops clinical diagnostic testing and related tools.

The details

Under the agreement, GenomOncology will license and distribute Jalapheno to all of its customers, with the tool fully integrated into GO Pathology Workbench. The AI workflows are optional, and for likely pathogenic or pathogenic variants the system drafts a clinical interpretation that a reviewer edits and approves before sign-out.

November 5, 2026: GenomOncology and ARUP Laboratories announced the multiyear exclusive agreement.

The Tech Race

Jalapheno's reliance on Human Phenotype Ontology terms places it within the growing use of standardized phenotype vocabularies to drive clinical genomic interpretation. The integration also follows the broader push by laboratory software vendors to add AI-assisted variant classification to existing diagnostic platforms.

Laboratories using GO Pathology Workbench will gain phenotype-based gene prioritization and optional AI-drafted interpretations, though each draft must be reviewed and approved by a clinician before results are finalized. Patients may see faster variant review in genomic testing, but the agreement's cost and access terms have not been disclosed.

The takeaway

Software that scores genes from patient phenotypes is becoming a standard layer in clinical genomics, but every AI-drafted interpretation still depends on human review before results reach patients. Readers following diagnostic testing should watch whether laboratories disclose performance data for these tools.