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Industry News 2021

News for the month of December 2021

COVID-19 / Sars-CoV-2

Funding / IPO

Mergers and Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

Sequencing Platforms

Spatial Transcriptomics

  • 2021 Top 10 Innovations By The Scientist. Includes Vizgen’s MERSCOPETM, 10x Genomics’ Chromium X, Mission Bio’s Tapestri Single-Cell Multi-omics Solution, Cardea Bio’s CRISPR-SNP Chip, and Resolve Biosciences’ Molecular CartographyTM Single-Cell Spatial Analysis Service

Variant / Genomic Analysis

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of November 2021

The month of November has undoubtedly been overshadowed by concerns about the recently emerged Omicron version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The many mutations inherent to this new version certainly put health authorities, vaccine manufacturers, health care providers, and the general public on alter as it is unclear how contagious, immunity evading, and deadly the new virus version is – only the next few weeks will show. Coinciding with the emergence of this new variant are the recommendations for a COVID booster, and significant concerns that existing vaccines may likely be less effective against Omicron. In planning for all possible scenarios, Moderna already issued a statement indicating it believes to have an Omicron variant vaccine ready as early as 2022.

Highlights for the month of November included the largest single release of whole genomes (200,000) by the UK Biobank (UKBB) for research purpose, Illumina in partnership with Genetic Alliance launching the $120M iHope™ Genetic Health program with the goal to increase equity and improve outcomes for families impacted by genetic disease in low- and middle-income communities around the world, Illumina (revenue of $1.11B or 40% increase) and Invitae (revenue of $114M or 66% increase) each reporting increased revenue compared to the same period in 2020, an entire special Cell Genomics CellPress issue dedicated to the work done by the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), the release of a new version of the Human Protein Atlas, and Alphabet launching a new company that uses AI for drug discovery that builds on DeepMind’s work on protein folding. Other news included Tempus Labs exploring an IPO in 2020, and QIAGEN and bioMérieux eyeing combination.

COVID-19 / Sars-CoV-2

Funding / IPO

Mergers and Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

Variant / Genomic Analysis

Genetic/Genomic Testing

Sequencing Platforms

Miscellaneous

Publication

News for the month of October 2021

Highlights for the month of October in Precision Medicine included the Mayo Clinic starting a collaboration with ClinGen to develop expert curated variant list, and the release of another exome sequencing study by the Regeneron Genetics Center – based on the 455K Biobank samples – which nicely illustrates the ability of exome sequencing to identify novel gene-trait associations, elucidate gene function, and pinpoint effector genes underlying GWAS signal at scale. Lastly, the Eu has ordered Illumina to keep Grail a separate company.

October is also the month of the Nobel Prize announcements – interestingly we did not see a much anticipated award for the mRNA technology underlying some of the most prominent vaccines that have been instrumental in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to David Julius, UCSF and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch, while the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to David W.C. MacMillan (Princeton University) and Benjamin List (Max Planck Institute) for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.

Other interesting news for the month of October informed us that Intermountain Healthcare together with Presbyterian Healthcare Services and SSM Health is launching Graphite Health, a nonprofit aimed at facilitating the development and distribution of helpful digital health tools. Furthermore, Amazon unveiled its ambition to help consumers manage their health at home via a series of product updates and launches. CVS Health revealed that they want to turn their pharmacies into front door primary care unitsFrancis Collins announced that he will end his tenure as the director of the NIH after having served for more than 12 years. And last but not least, the FDA panel now recommends COVID-19 shots for children 5 to 11, while the CDC Approves Mix and Match COVID-19 Boosters.

This October news update has been sponsored by:

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding / IPO

Merger and Acquisitions

Liquid Biopsy

Precision Medicine

Microbiome

Single Cell Genomics / Spatial Genomics

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of September 2021

The booster shot discussions continued in September with the CDC now recommending boosters for certain age groups including individuals with medical conditions and frontline workers who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine based on testing data from Israel. Another much needed discussion regarding COVID-19 centers around pathogen surveillance and, more specifically, the need for federated data systems. The Broad Institute announced a partnership with the CDC and Theiagen to enable pathogen genomic surveillance across the U.S. via the use of the open-source platform Terra.

On the precision medicine front, Geisinger is developing a high impact phenotype identification system with the goal of shortening the time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of the genetic basis for 13 medical conditions; 54gene raises $25M in Series B to expand capabilities in sequencing, target identification and validation, clinical trials, and drug discovery for the benefit of both Africans and the global population; BC Platforms announced a new collaboration with the South African Institute of Everyone Genome (AiEG) to build an integrated clinical and genomics data biobank in the African continent to enable longitudinal RWD and genomics-access for drug development in Africa; and an NYU study finds that ultrasound-analyzing AI improves breast cancer diagnoses by 37%.

This September news update has been sponsored by:

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding / IPO

Precision Medicine

Genomic / Genetic Testing

NGS / Genomics Platforms

CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

RWE / RWD

  • BC Platforms to Enable Longitudinal RWD and Genomics Access for Drug Development in Africa BC Platforms engages in a new collaboration with the African Institute of Everyone Genome (AiEG), a South African genomic company focusing on building the largest integrated clinical and genomics data biobank in the African continent. As part of the collaboration, BCP’s platform will enable RWD research involving 10M+ consenting patient genomes from all 54 African countries, to be collected by AiEG over a period of 10-15 years.

Liquid Biopsy / MRD

Proteomics

Microbiome

CosmosID Launches Accurate and Easy Functional Microbiome Analysis with New Software Platform, CosmosID-HUB: Microbiome

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of August 2021

August brought several acquisitions in the sector: Fulgent Genetics acquired CSI Laboratories to expand its presence in the somatic molecular diagnostic and cancer testing market, Sanofi will purchase Translate Bio with its mRNA Technology for $3.2B, ProPhase Labs acquired Nebula Genomics for ~$14.6MHibercell acquired Genuity Science, and Illumina announced the acquisition of GRAiL. The latter came after the EU antitrust regulators’ decision to temporarily suspend their investigation into Illumina’s planned purchase – while Illumina was ordered to provide additional data. This in turn resulted in the EU Commission to initiate an investigating whether Illumina has breached its standstill obligation before EU’s antitrust approval in advance of closing any merger deals. 
Additionally, the COVID highlights for the month of August included the Biden administration’s recommendation for booster shots for most Americans, now as early as 5 months after the primary immunization based on new data from Israel.

This August news update has been sponsored by:

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

NGS / Genomics Platforms

Genomic / Genetic Testing

Single Cell / Spatial Genomics

CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of July 2021

During the month of July the Delta virus has been tightening its grip both in the U.S. and other parts of the world, mostly due to its highly contagious nature, prompting the CDC to change its mask guidance with the recommendation for vaccinated individuals to wear masks indoors again in regions with high infection rates.
On the opposite note, July also brought some exciting scientific development with DeepMind, in partnership with EMBL-EBI, announcing that they plan to release the predictive structure of all proteins known. Amazing how science has changed over the last few years as we are starting to take full advantage of what artificial intelligence has to offer. Even just the potential for drug discovery and development are tremendous. In other news: Sema4 (NASDAQ:SMFR)SOPHiA Genetics (NASDAQ:SOPH), and Caribou Biosciences (NASDAQ:CRBU) debut on the Nasdaq, and sequencing of 640,000 exomes resulted in the identification of mutations associated with protection from obesity.

This July news update has been sponsored by:

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

NGS / Genomics Platforms

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing

Single Cell / Spatial Genomics

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of June 2021

Over the month of June a new normal has been developing in some areas of the world where a significant proportion of the population is now vaccinated, while at the same time the highly transmissible delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is putting parts of Europe, North America, and Africa on alert, in some cases already delaying the full reopening of some societies like in the UK. In other developments, some good news reveal that a vaccination with the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine may ward off COVID-19 for years and not just months, And yet again, the scare of a third wave is prevalent in some countries.
During the month of June we also saw the marketing clearance of the much debated Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, by the FDA which resulted in the resignation of three FDA advisers due to the fact that the approval was based on incomplete or unpublished data.

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

Genomic / Genetic Testing

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Liquid Biopsy

CRISPR / Cas9 Genome Editing

Single Cell / Spatial Genomics

Miscellaneous

Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm

Publications

News for the month of May 2021

May brought interesting funding rounds:  Causaly raised $17M (Series A), Bluestart Genomics $70M (Series C), GenapSys $70M (Series D), while Singular Genomics is seeking an IPO and Ginkgo Bioworks is coming to market via a SPAC. Additional May highlights included: ACMG has released an updated policy statement and gene list for the reporting of secondary findings (SF)Aetion, Flatiron Health, IQVIA, Syapse, and Tempus launched a RWE alliance, and the Senate weighs investing $120 Billion in Science to bolster the United States’ ability to compete with China.

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing

Genomic / Genetic Testing

Single Cell / Spatial Genomics

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

RWE / RWD

Miscellaneous

Publication

News for the month of April 2021

Some of the April highlights included: Israel’s COVID deaths hit zero with almost 60% of its population being vaccinated; the FDA and CDC lifted the recommended pause on J&J COVID vaccine use following thorough safety review after a two weeks pause due to safety concerns; Illumina filed action for annulment of European Commissions’ decision asserting jurisdiction to review the acquisition of GRAIL; and Geisinger was awarded $3.6M to study genetics of cancer.

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

NGS / Genomics Platforms

CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing

Genomic / Genetic Testing

Liquid Biopsy

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of March 2021

The March highlights were across all areas of genomics and precision medicine and included: Spatial transcriptomics taking – yet again – center stage at the annual AGBT conference; the FTC challenging Illumina’s proposed acquisition of cancer detection test maker GrailInsightful Science acquiring Dotmatics (the deal is valued at $690M USD); Roche acquiring GenMark Diagnostics in a $1.8B deal; the SEC charging uBiome co-founders with $60M fraud; and machine learning-driven drug discovery and development raising $400M (Insitro Series C round).  

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing

Spatial Transcriptomics

Real-World Data / Real-World Evidence

Liquid Biopsy

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of February 2021

February brought on an interesting series of SPACs in the genomics sector – if you are not familiar with this term, it means Special Purpose Acquisition Company which translates into a company going public via a merger. 23andMe, Nautilus Biotechnology, and Sema4 all went public via a SPAC. 23andMe merged with Virgin Groups VG Acquisition Corp [the business combination values 23andMe at an enterprise value of ~$3.5B], Nautilus Biotechnology merged with Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp III [the combined company is expected to receive proceeds of approximately $350M at the closing of the transaction], while Sema4 combined with CM Life Sciences [the combined company is expected to receive proceeds of up to ~$793M at the closing of the transaction, up to $343M of which will be paid to Sema4 stockholders and the remainder of which will be utilized by Sema4 for its business to be operated under the same Sema4 management team].

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Funding

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

Genomic / Genetic Testing

NGS / Genomics Platforms

Liquid Biopsy

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Immunotherapy

CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing 

Miscellaneous

Publication

News for the month of January 2021

During the month of January, attention was primarily directed towards the new SARS-CoV-2 variants (especially the ones that emerged from the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil). We’ve learned that these new variants have been more transmissible compared to the original virus, resulting in greater danger of risk of higher numbers in hospitalizations and deaths. In hopes of expanding the country’s surveillance to detect and characterize emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 Illumina and Helix started a collaboration to augment national surveillance infrastructure, while Quest Diagnostics was granted a CDC contract to sequence COVID-19 gene variants to identify new mutations and patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Other notable developments include announcements that took place during the JP Morgan Healthcare conference, such as the multi-year PacBio-Invitae collaboration to develop a production-scale, high-throughput clinical whole genome sequencing platform leveraging the power of PacBio’s HiFi sequencing technology, as well as Illumina’s launch of Illumina Connected Analytics (ICA), a cloud-based platform for multi-omics data exploration, coupled with machine learning, and tertiary analysis tools which harnesses the DRAGEN Bio-IT Platform (acquired in 2018) and BlueBee technology (acquired in 2020). 

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

For more in-depth reading, our compiled COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 news page lists selected coronavirus/COVID-19 news.

Funding

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

Precision Medicine

Genomic / Genetic Testing

NGS / Genomics Platforms

CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing 

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Microbiome

Miscellaneous

Publications

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