Alliance panels include a 50-gene
pharmacogenomics panel and a nearly 400-gene panel of challenging,
medically relevant "dark genes" developed in collaboration with
leading institutions
MENLO
PARK, Calif. and SOUTH SAN
FRANCISCO, Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
PacBio (NASDAQ: PACB), a leading developer of high-quality,
highly accurate sequencing solutions, and Twist Bioscience
Corporation, a company enabling customers to succeed through its
offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform,
today announced the availability of an initial portfolio of
off-the-shelf long-read gene panels. These fixed Twist Alliance
panels are designed to capture target regions in a cost-effective
and high throughput manner. Customers will also have the ability to
develop a fully customizable and scalable panel of their own design
for sequencing with PacBio HiFi reads.
"Our customers have been asking for a way to focus their
long-read experiments and maximize throughput," said Christian Henry, President and Chief Executive
Officer of PacBio. "Through this collaboration with Twist we have
developed off-the-shelf products that we believe have delivered on
that capability. Collaborations like this help us quickly bring new
solutions to our customers and advance our mission to enable the
promise of genomics to better human health."
"These panels developed with PacBio enable customers to sequence
regions of the genome that can help researchers study the role of
genetics in drug response and uncover regions that are difficult to
read, such as 'dark genes' and genes associated with
neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Providing scientists
with NGS tools enables them to further their research and gain a
better understanding of the role that certain genes play in
diseases, which could one day be translated to breakthroughs for
patients," said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of
Twist Bioscience. "While these are long-read panels, Twist Alliance
panels are developed in partnership with experts in their field to
further research and can be made to be compatible with any
sequencing technology."
PacBio and Twist collaborated with researchers at leading
institutions to develop two Alliance panels. One panel includes
coverage of nearly 400 challenging medically relevant genes, and
another was designed to capture 50 pharmacogenomic genes. Many of
the challenging genes are in so-called "dark regions" of the human
genome that are difficult to sequence or accurately map using
standard short-read sequencing technologies. The dark gene panel
was developed with researchers at a leading institution to
interrogate and detect nearly 400 hard-to-sequence genes of medical
significance, such as SMN1 and SMN2, GBA, and
LPA, which are associated with Spinal Muscular Atrophy,
Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease, respectively. The
pharmacogenomics panel includes genes with high levels of evidence
for implementation of prescribing guidelines.
In addition to the new capabilities provided by the long-read
panels, PacBio is also collaborating with Twist to demonstrate the
high level of accuracy that can be achieved using sequencing by
binding (SBB) chemistry. By nature, SBB excels at correctly
resolving homopolymer runs and repetitive regions. When applied to
whole-exome sequencing, it has the potential to provide the most
complete coverage of both uncomplicated and traditionally difficult
to sequence genes which could streamline workflows by reducing the
need for orthogonal assays.
About Twist Alliance
Panels
In partnership with leading research institutions from around
the world, Twist has curated a collection of high-quality target
enrichment panels for applications ranging from carrier screening
to cancer diagnostics and whole exome sequencing. The Twist
Alliance Panels combine the strengths of precise, highly uniform
oligonucleotide synthesis with the specialty expertise of leading
scientific research partners.
Well designed, custom target enrichment panels enable increased
sequencing depth on target genes while reducing overall sequencing.
This allows for more sensitive detection of target sequences and
higher confidence variant detection.
About PacBio
PacBio (NASDAQ: PACB) is a premier life science technology
company that is designing, developing and manufacturing advanced
sequencing solutions to help scientists and clinical researchers
resolve genetically complex problems. Our products and technology
under development stem from two highly differentiated core
technologies focused on accuracy, quality and completeness which
include our existing HiFi long read sequencing and our emerging
SBB® short read sequencing technologies. Our products address
solutions across a broad set of research applications including
human germline sequencing, plant and animal sciences, infectious
disease and microbiology, oncology, and other emerging
applications. 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 Twist Bioscience
Corporation
Twist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic
biology and genomics company that has developed a disruptive DNA
synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The
core of the platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a
new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by "writing" DNA on a
silicon chip. Twist is leveraging its unique technology to
manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products,
including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing
(NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and
development. Twist is also pursuing longer-term opportunities in
digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. Twist
makes products for use across many industries including healthcare,
industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.
Follow us on Twitter | Facebook |
LinkedIn | YouTube
PacBio Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact
contained herein are forward-looking statements, including
statements relating to future availability, uses, accuracy,
advantages, quality or performance of, or benefits or expected
benefits of using, PacBio products or technologies and the Twist
Alliance panels, including in connection with the ability to
capture target regions of the genome in a cost-effective and high
throughput manner; the ability of customers to customize and scale
panels of their own design, sequence dark regions of the genome
that may be associated with certain diseases and sequence certain
pharmacogenomic genes; the potential breakthroughs for patients
that could result from the use of Twist Alliance panels and PacBio
technology; collaborations to demonstrate SBB accuracy; potential
to provide the most complete coverage of certain genes; potential
to streamline workflows; and other forward-looking statements.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements and any such forward-looking statements
are qualified in their entirety by reference to the following
cautionary statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date of this press release and are based on current
expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ
materially from such forward-looking statements. Readers are
strongly encouraged to read the full cautionary statements
contained in PacBio's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the risks set forth in PacBio's Forms 8-K,
10-K, and 10-Q. PacBio disclaims any obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements.
Twist Bioscience Legal Notice
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical facts contained
herein, including without limitation, statements regarding the
capability of the Twist Alliance panels developed with PacBio to
enable customers to sequence challenging genes, are forward-looking
statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of
management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other important factors that may cause Twist
Bioscience's actual results, performance, or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, performance, or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the
risks and uncertainties of the ability to attract new customers and
retain and grow sales from existing customers; risks and
uncertainties of rapidly changing technologies and extensive
competition in synthetic biology could make the products Twist
Bioscience is developing obsolete or non-competitive; uncertainties
of the retention of a significant customer; risks of third-party
claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or
seeking to invalidate Twist Bioscience's patents or proprietary
rights; and the risk that Twist Bioscience's proprietary rights may
be insufficient to protect its technologies. For a further
description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking
statements, as well as risks relating to Twist Bioscience's
business in general, see Twist Bioscience's risk factors set forth
in Twist Bioscience's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on August
8, 2022 and subsequent filings with the SEC. Any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date hereof, and Twist Bioscience specifically
disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Contacts
For PacBio
Investors:
Todd Friedman
ir@pacb.com
Media:
Lizelda Lopez
pr@pacb.com
For Twist Bioscience
Angela
Bitting
SVP, Corporate Affairs
925- 202-6211
abitting@twistbioscience.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pacbio-and-twist-bioscience-deliver-initial-portfolio-of-target-enrichment-panels-for-hifi-sequencing-301653127.html
SOURCE Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.