Complete Genomics showcased its innovative sequencing capacity at the Biotech Showcase 2023, one of the year’s most important investor conferences.
Complete Genomics Chief Scientific Officer Rade Drmanac, Ph.D.
Complete Genomics showcased its innovative sequencing capacity at the Biotech Showcase 2023, one of the year’s most important investor conferences.
The presentation provided an opportunity for Chief Scientific Officer Rade Drmanac, Ph.D., to explain why he feels the company’s sequencing products have the potential to bring genome sequencing to the masses.
Up to now, genome sequencing has been limited in accessibility due to high costs and a lack of options in the products available for scientists and researchers.
To combat these challenges, Drmanac said the company’s proprietary DNBSEQ™ platform is designed to excel in three primary areas: accuracy, flexibility and affordability.
“DNBSEQ™ has many advantages; it brings a whole new level of capabilities in the DNA sequencing field to the industry,” he said.
A Unique Approach
What differentiates the technology, Drmanac added, is the company’s unique approach, which it has utilized since its inception in 2006.
“People usually think sequencing chemistry is the most important, but I think the most important part of the process is how you prepare the DNA for sequencing. If that preparation is not proper, the sequencing doesn’t work accurately or efficiently.”
To increase accuracy, the team of researchers made the technology available on all sequencing platforms, eliminating the index hopping and clonal errors that often occur during the sequencing step of next-generation sequencing workflow.
The life science platform also combines advanced ultrasound imaging technology with molecule information found through sequencing and tissue information found through imaging.
“In terms of the sequencing, we’re going to monitor the molecular health of every tissue,” Drmanac said. “Using single-cell and spatial omics, we can monitor the expression of genes in individual cells and sub-cell levels in every tissue using our advanced sequencing and ultra-high-density arrays.”
Starting Fresh
After operating and selling its products internationally for over a decade, in August 2022, Complete Genomics released its DNBSEQ-G400C* sequencer in the U.S.
Riding this momentum, the company is aiming even higher in 2023. Complete Genomics plans to release three different products to kick off the new year.
The first is DNBSEQ-T7*, an ultra-high throughput sequencer that focuses on flexibility. It’s capable of allowing four independent flow cells to run at any time, producing more than 20,000 of 30X WGS in less than one year.
The second is DNBSEQ-T10x4*, its highest throughput sequencer available, with a daily data output of up to 18 TB. It also comes with a robotic arm.
The third is DNBSEQ-E25*, a very low throughput portable sequencer that can run up to 7.5G daily. This sequencer focuses on convenience and ease. With built-in bioinformatics, it can be set up in less than 10 minutes.
Complete Genomics also offers other products that help with several different processes, from sample preparation and lab automation to data analysis and storage. The company also expects to release additional products in the U.S. in the future.
Drmanac said the company’s mission is to lead innovation in life sciences and to enable the future of health care to more accurately prevent diseases. But, he said, Complete Genomics cannot achieve this mission without one crucial element: his team.
“In between the vision and mission and technology is what really matters: the team. You need so many different teams to play together–you have chemistry, hardware, software, research, development…I work with all of these teams, from management to the youngest scientist. Everybody has the same goal.”
That goal, he said, is simple: to bring genome sequencing to everyone. And while these products cannot be sold directly to consumers, if they are available to research and service labs, hospitals and clinics at a lower cost, sequencing will become more accessible to patients.
“We can build these products that are affordable for everybody,” Drmanac said. “Every child deserves to know their genome sequence and their genetic information. They deserve a healthier life.”
*Unless otherwise informed, StandardMPS and CoolMPS sequencing reagents and sequencers for use with such reagents are not available in Germany, Spain, the U.K., Sweden, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Portugal, Austria and Romania. Unless otherwise informed, StandardMPS sequencing reagents and sequencers for use with such reagents are not available in Hong Kong.
To better support U.S customers, especially those operating on tight capital budgets, Complete Genomics launched a free three-month trial program, offering a money back guarantee if customers are not completely satisfied with their instrument purchase. For further information, please reach out to sales@completegenomics.com.
