Novogene Purchases 10 PacBio Sequel Systems

By Bio-IT World Staff

January 16, 2017 | Novogene today announced its intention to purchase 10 Sequel Systems for whole genome sequencing, Iso-Seq annotation and targeted sequencing services from Pacific Biosciences.

PacBio’s sequencing systems are based on its Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) technology, and provide an unmatched depth of genetic information through exceptionally long sequencing reads, uniform coverage, and the highest consensus accuracy available today. The company announced its Sequel System a bit less than 18 months ago. The technology allows scientists to go beyond fragmented draft genomes and generate the most comprehensive de novo assemblies.

In a press release, Ruiqiang Li, Founder and CEO of Novogene commented: “Our purchase of ten PacBio Sequel Systems will advance our ability to produce even higher quality and more complete de novo genome assemblies. The addition of these systems, and the ability to sequence large genomic libraries that yield mean read lengths of 10-18kb, also will enable us to meet the growing demand for SMRT Sequencing and to deliver more cost-effective de novo sequencing and assembly solutions for our customers. With this purchase, we expect to have the world’s largest SMRT Sequencing facility.”

In the same statement, Michael J. Hunkapiller, Chairman and CEO of PacBio added: “We are delighted to receive such a significant endorsement of our technology from a world-class sequencing facility. This follows a recent trend by leading institutions around the world investing in multiple SMRT Sequencing systems— oftentimes to complement their existing PacBio RS II instruments. Moreover, it underscores that adoption of SMRT Sequencing to answer some of the most challenging questions in genomics and medicine is increasing steadily.”

Last week Novogene was also named by Illumina as an early customer of its new NovoSeq system. The company didn’t announce the number of Illumina instruments it bought, though Illumina said it sold 49 instruments in total to 6 institutions.