MENLO PARK, Calif., Aug. 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Nasdaq:PACB) today announced it has released a set of key updates for the Sequel™ System, the company’s latest product based on its Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) Sequencing technology. The new release provides performance improvements via updated sequencing chemistry, optimized sample clean-up protocols, and associated software that together further improve read lengths, throughput and accuracy of the system. In addition, as customers upgrade their Sequel Systems to the new software and chemistry, they will no longer be subject to the supply constraints for SMRT Cells that were in effect earlier this year.
“These updates reinforce our continued commitment to improving SMRT Sequencing throughput, read length, and accuracy through optimized protocols and chemistry to enhance applications, such as de novo assembly, targeted sequencing, and the Iso-Seq™ method for RNA analysis,” said Kevin Corcoran, Senior Vice President of Market Development for Pacific Biosciences. “With this release, we have removed SMRT Cell supply constraints as we begin to source SMRT Cells for the Sequel System from our high-volume supplier.”
Yi Han, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, who had early access to the new chemistry and software commented: “We are very impressed with the data we are getting with the latest update to the Sequel chemistry, sample prep, and software. As one of the first adopters of SMRT Sequencing, we appreciate how PacBio has partnered with us since 2010 to continually make improvements to the technology that directly benefit our research.”
Robert Sebra, Ph.D., Director of Technology Development & Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai stated, "To date we’ve successfully demonstrated high molecular depth targeted long-range amplicon sequencing for a variety of medically relevant and other research applications, in addition to using the Iso-Seq and variant validation pipelines on Sequel. With the most recent releases, we’ve now seen significantly improved sequencing metrics and the non-restricted SMRT Cell supply will now enable larger genomes to be sequenced, and research requiring extreme molecular depth using the Sequel technology to truly differentiate the power of higher throughput long-read single molecule sequencing."
More information about Sequel is available at: http://www.pacb.com/products-and-services/pacbio-systems/sequel/.
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
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