Pacific Biosciences and Invitae to Develop Ultra-High-Throughput Clinical Whole Genome Sequencing Platform
January 13 2021 - 8:02AM
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Nasdaq: PACB), a leading
provider of high-quality, long-read sequencing platforms, today
announced a multi-year collaboration with Invitae Corporation
(NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, to begin
development of a production-scale high-throughput sequencing
platform leveraging the power of PacBio’s highly accurate HiFi
sequencing to expand Invitae’s whole genome testing capabilities.
“Whole genome sequencing has the ability to significantly
improve diagnosis for a wide range of diseases and guide healthcare
throughout life. This collaboration is aimed at developing the
technology to make it affordable and accessible to all patients who
can benefit from in-depth, full genome information," said Sean
George, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Invitae. “Our
work with PacBio to date has demonstrated the increased diagnostic
yield and clinical utility of using information from high-quality,
long-read genomes to guide patient care. We believe this
world-class sequencing technology combined with our clinical
capabilities will uniquely position us to deliver those benefits
cost effectively at scale. We look forward to working with the
PacBio team to develop a new generation of innovative whole
genome-based offerings.”
Identifying the many underlying genetic influences on human
health is becoming increasingly critical to overall clinical care
and prognosis and whole genome sequencing offers the most
comprehensive view of medically relevant variations. As whole
genome sequencing continues to grow into a preferred method for
genetic testing, it is expected by the Global Alliance for Genomics
and Health that by 2025 as many as sixty million genomes will be
sequenced. With the development of a new sequencing platform,
Invitae and PacBio aim to enable a new class of cost-effective
assays that could be used to accelerate the accessibility of a more
comprehensive whole genome sequencing approach in areas including
carrier screening, immune system response, and other heritable
diseases.
“Invitae is a leader in medical genetic testing and has driven
innovation in this area for more than a decade. We are excited to
join forces to develop and implement this new platform which is
built on our shared vision that broad access to whole genome
sequencing in the clinic has the power to improve diagnosis and
access to precision therapies,” said Christian Henry, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Biosciences. “Building on the
proven performance of our HiFi sequencing, we believe that this new
system will ultimately enable us to deliver the most clinically
relevant whole genome at substantially less than $1,000 which we
believe is a critical price threshold needed to expand adoption in
routine medical care.”
PacBio HiFi sequencing combines the high accuracy of Sanger
sequencing (>99.9%) with long reads up to 25 kb. Together, the
length and accuracy of HiFi reads provide excellent detection of
variants from single nucleotide changes to large structural
variants, even in hard-to-sequence regions of the genome.
Through the collaboration, both companies will commit
significant resources to support development of a production-scale
sequencing platform designed with the capacity to process clinical
whole genomes at scale. Those resources are expected to include
talent, technology and collaborative oversight, and Invitae will
also invest capital to support development throughout the
multi-year effort. About Pacific
BiosciencesPacific Biosciences of California, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PACB) is empowering life scientists with highly accurate
long-read sequencing. The company’s innovative instruments are
based on Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) Sequencing technology,
which delivers a comprehensive view of genomes, transcriptomes, and
epigenomes, enabling access to the full spectrum of genetic
variation in any organism. Cited in thousands of peer-reviewed
publications, PacBio® sequencing systems are in use by scientists
around the world to drive discovery in human biomedical research,
plant and animal sciences, and microbiology. For more information,
please visit www.pacb.com and follow @PacBio.
PacBio products are provided for Research Use
Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
About InvitaeInvitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA)
is a leading medical genetics company whose mission is to bring
comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to
improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to
aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with
higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more
information, visit the company's website at invitae.com.
Pacific Biosciences Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, including, among other things, statements
relating to market leadership, uses, accuracy, quality or
performance of, or benefits of using, Pacific Biosciences’ products
or technologies, including HiFi technology; the expected benefits,
suitability or utility of Pacific Biosciences methods, products or
technologies for particular applications or projects, including for
whole genome sequencing; the benefits of whole genome sequencing;
market estimates; the ability to provide whole genome sequencing
for less than $1,000; the resources to be committed by Pacific
Biosciences to the new sequencing platform; the ability of the
parties to achieve the goals and realize the expected benefits of
the collaboration; and other future events. You should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances
and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond Pacific
Biosciences’ control and could cause actual results to differ
materially from the information expressed or implied by
forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that
could materially affect actual results can be found in Pacific
Biosciences’ most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including Pacific Biosciences’ most recent reports on
Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q, and include those listed under the
caption “Risk Factors.” Pacific Biosciences undertakes no
obligation to revise or update information in this press release to
reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new
information becomes available.
Invitae Forward-Looking StatementsThis press
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including
statements relating to the quality of Pacific Biosciences’
technology; the benefits of whole genome sequencing; market
estimates; the contributions of Invitae to the collaboration; and
the ability of the parties to achieve the goals and realize the
expected benefits of the collaboration. Forward-looking statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially, and reported results should not be
considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to: Invitae’s history of
losses; Invitae’s ability to compete; Invitae’s failure to manage
growth effectively; Invitae’s need to scale its infrastructure in
advance of demand for its tests and to increase demand for its
tests; Invitae’s ability to use rapidly changing genetic data to
interpret test results accurately and consistently; security
breaches, loss of data and other disruptions; laws and regulations
applicable to Invitae’s business; the impact of litigation on
Invitae’s business; and the other risks set forth in Invitae’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
risks set forth in Invitae’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended September 30, 2020. These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims
any obligation to update these forward-looking
statements.Contacts:
For PacBio:Investors: Trevin Rard
650.521.8450ir@pacificbiosciences.com
Media: Colin Sanford 203.918.4347colin@bioscribe.com
For Invitae:Laura D’Angelo 628.213.3283pr@invitae.com
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