PacBio Announces Termination of Agreement with Roche Diagnostics
December 15 2016 - 9:00AM
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Nasdaq:PACB), today
announced that F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd (Roche) has elected to
terminate for convenience the development, commercialization and
license agreement with Pacific Biosciences for the development and
supply of diagnostic products based on the company’s Single
Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) technology.
The agreement, which was entered into by the parties in 2013,
provides the option for Roche to terminate the agreement for any
reason with sixty days’ prior notice. Upon termination, other than
retaining certain non-exclusive rights with respect to using
products already purchased from Pacific Biosciences under the
agreement, Roche will have no rights to SMRT technology, and
Pacific Biosciences will be free to commercialize products based on
the Sequel™ sequencing platform into the clinical research and
sequencing market, directly or with other distribution
partners.
“The Sequel System was developed during the period of our
collaboration with Roche and has achieved all of the milestones set
forth in our agreement,” said Dr. Michael W. Hunkapiller, Chief
Executive Officer of Pacific Biosciences. “We are very proud of the
achievements and performance of the Sequel System, which were
showcased at the recent ASHG annual meeting and PacBio Workshop in
Vancouver.”
“The clinical research and sequencing market and regulatory
environment have evolved during the three years since we entered
into this agreement with Roche. While we are disappointed with
Roche’s decision to terminate the agreement, we are already
familiar with this market and Roche’s decision does not
significantly change our near-term plans for expanding our business
to address this market,” continued Dr. Hunkapiller. “The long-term
goal of this agreement was for Roche to pursue the in vitro
diagnostic market with regulated, assay-specific tests based on the
Sequel platform and, to that end, Roche was focused on developing
certain targeted assays and additional software features on the
Sequel System.”
“We are prepared to immediately pursue opportunities in the
clinical research and sequencing market which do not require the
supply of assay-specific kits and we have already seen interest
from customers in this space, which we believe currently represents
the majority of this market. The quality framework we have
developed while working with Roche and our existing ISO 13485 and
ISO 9001 certifications position us well to address this market,”
concluded Dr. Hunkapiller.
Pacific Biosciences continues to see strength in its business.
The company’s product and service revenue for 2016 is on pace to
grow between 55% and 65% over 2015. The company is targeting to
grow product and service revenue by another 40% to 60% in 2017.
Management will host a conference call to discuss the
announcement today at 12:00pm Eastern Time / 9:00am Pacific Time.
Investors may listen to the call by dialing 888. 366.7247, passcode
40354223, or if outside the U.S., by dialing 707.287.9330, passcode
40354223. The call will be webcast live and will be available for
replay at Pacific Biosciences’ website at
http://investor.pacificbiosciences.com/.
About Pacific Biosciences
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB)
offers sequencing systems to help scientists resolve genetically
complex problems. Based on its novel Single Molecule, Real-Time
(SMRT®) technology, Pacific Biosciences’ products enable: de novo
genome assembly to finish genomes in order to more fully identify,
annotate and decipher genomic structures; full-length transcript
analysis to improve annotations in reference genomes, characterize
alternatively spliced isoforms in important gene families, and find
novel genes; targeted sequencing to more comprehensively
characterize genetic variations; and real-time kinetic information
for epigenome characterization. Pacific Biosciences’ technology
provides high accuracy, ultra-long reads, uniform coverage, and is
the only DNA sequencing technology that provides the ability to
simultaneously detect epigenetic changes. PacBio® sequencing
systems, including consumables and software, provide a simple,
fast, end-to-end workflow for SMRT Sequencing. More information is
available at www.pacb.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not historical are
forward-looking statements, including, among other things,
statements relating to the effects of Roche’s termination of the
agreement with Pacific Biosciences, future uses, quality or
performance of, or benefits of using, products or technologies, the
company’s ability to successfully address and compete in the
clinical research and sequencing market or other markets, including
with respect to sales and marketing of its products, market size
and growth, the maintenance of the company’s ISO certifications,
estimates regarding revenues and future financial performance 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.
Contacts
Media and Investors:
Trevin Rard
650.521.8450
ir@pacificbiosciences.com
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