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Industry News Highlights

Find here a listing of the latest industry news in genomics, genetics, precision medicine, and beyond. We will update and add to this page on a regular basis. This page is not a compilation of all relevant information but rather contains some key highlights that we consider to be of importance to share with the community.

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News for the month of August 2023

Highlights for the month of August included the publication of the full sequence of the Y chromosome published in two different papers. The Y chromosome, once considered an unimportant “graveyard” for genes destined to disappear and very small in size, was hard to sequence mostly because of its repetitive regions. Researchers (National Human Genome Research Institute, and the Telomere-to-Telomere consortium) have now analyzed and detailed the complex arrangement of 62 million bases from the Y chromosome, while a second research group (Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine) created and analyzed an assembly of 43 human Y chromosomes which revealed extensive complexity and variation. Furthermore, the NIH unveiled a comprehensive dataset to help cancer researchers uncover new molecular insights into how cancers develop and progress that standardizes genomic, proteomic, imaging, and clinical data from individual studies of more than 1,000 tumors across 10 cancer types. The pan-cancer proteogenomic dataset is described in detail in the Proteogenomic data and resources for pan-cancer analysis.

Other news for the month included Illumina being investigated by the SEC in relation to the $7.1B Grail acquisition, this about a month after the European Commission fined the company approximately $478.9 million (€432 million) for completing the merger in August 2021 before the Commission had weighed in on whether the deal was anti-competitive.

Funding / IPO

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

(Omics) Data Platform / Sequencing / Analysis / Instruments

Multi-Omics

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / ChatGPT

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of July 2023

Also in July, Illumina was carrying some of the major headlines in the sector, albeit not in a positive way: Illumina was hit with a record $476M EU antitrust fine over the Grail deal which followed shortly after the layoff news announced at the end of last month as part of an effort to cut more than$100M in expenses this year.

Other news for the month of July included Myriad Genetics announcing a new $90M asset-based credit facility, Causaly raising $60M in Series B to catalyze their AI-powered preclinical discovery platform, genome sequencing being shown to be highly effective at diagnosing genetic disorders in newborns and infants, Amazon launching a generative AI-based clinical documentation service, and the finding that a common variant in an immune-system gene may be linked with a much higher chance of dodging symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Funding / IPO

Precision Medicine

(Omics) Data Platform / Sequencing / Analysis / Instruments

Genomic/Genetic Testing / CDx / Liquid Biopsy

Genome Editing / CRISPR / Cas9

Spatial Omics

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Large Language Models

Miscellaneous

Covid-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Publications

News for the month of June 2023

The biggest June news clearly centered around the resignation of Francis deSouza as CEO of Illumina after a proxy battle with Icahn. Him stepping down, marked a victory for the activist investor Carl Icahn and heightened expectations that this could lead to unwinding Illumina’s controversial $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail. Illumina has since begun a search for a new CEO and named Charles Dadswell, senior vice president and general counsel, as interim chief executive. DeSouza will stay on in an advisory capacity through July 31.

Other news for the month of June included Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction company, being named to the third-annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, which recognizes 100 companies making an extra ordinary impact around the world; Illumina Ventures launching Illumina Ventures Labs building on the foundation of the Illumina Accelerator Program; the ACMG updating its guidance for reporting secondary findings in the context of clinical exome and genome sequencing (v3.2); and the invention of a new way to map specific DNA markings called 5-methylcytosine(5mC) which regulate gene expression and key role in health and disease. In addition, this technique allows for scientists to profile DNA using very small samples and this without compromising the sample which means it can potentially be used in liquid biopsy applications.

Funding / IPO

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

(Omics) Data Platform / Sequencing / Analysis / Instruments

Genomic/Genetic Testing / CDx / Liquid Biopsy

RWE / RWD

Spatial Omics

Genome Editing / CRISPR / Cas9

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Large Language Models

Microbiome

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of May 2023

Since ChatGPT broke into the world in November of last year it has captured everybody’s attention with both OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI services being now available to the public. During the month of May it got very prevalent in the healthcare scene that teach leaders are being eager to adopt the technology sooner than later. As such, we see many companies now integrating ChatGPT into their offerings, and for example, Epic going all in on generative AI and is working with Microsoft to integrate large language model tools and AI into its electronic health record software. While the FDA commissioner Robert Califf sees that large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, will result in important applications that will improve healthcare, Califf suggested that the regulation of ChatGPT-like models is critical to avoid being‘swept up quickly’ by tech and with that OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, faced questions about Artificial Intelligence at a hearing in the U.S. Senate.  

Additional news for the month of May included Genome Insight announcing the U.S. launch of CancerVision, their whole genome sequencing (WGS) test, in conjunction with the opening of their corporate headquarter located in San Diego, CA; DNAnexus announcing that its core platform and Cohort Browser are now optimized for accessing and analyzing large-scale proteomics data, and PerkinElmer is rebranding its diagnostics, life sciences business as Revvity.

Funding / IPO

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

(Omics) Data Platform / Sequencing / Analysis / Instruments

Genomic/Genetic Testing / CDx / Liquid Biopsy

Genome Editing / CRISPR / Cas9

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Miscellaneous

Microbiome

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Publications

News for the month of April 2023

Major news for the month of April included Kaiser Permanente announcing that they will acquire Geisinger Health to develop a new company that would operate nonprofit community health systems, the Broad Institute together with Fabric Genomics launching a $1K Sample-to-Report Clinical Whole-Genome Sequencing Service, and a team of Broad Institute, MIT, and Harvard researchers publishing an improved DNA sequencing method that results in 1000-fold higher accuracy to detect rare genetic mutations.

Additional major news centered around AI and ChatGPT systems with Amazon striking a partnership with 3M to advance conversational AI in medicine, Microsoft and Epic planning to bring AI into electronic health records, ChatGPT being potentially helpful for breast cancer screening advice with certain caveats, PathAI announcing PathExplore, an AI-powered Pathology Panel to unlock untapped insights from the Tumor Microenvironment, and OpenAI closing a $300 million funding round at $27billion-$29 billion valuation.

Funding / IPO

Genomic / Genetic Testing / CDx / Liquid Biopsy

Precision Medicine

(Genomics) Data Platform / Sequencing / Analysis / Instruments

Genome Editing, CRISPR / Cas9

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Miscellaneous

Publications

News for the month of March 2023

March was overshadowed by the second biggest bank collapse in U.S. history – the Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators. The company’s downward spiral accelerated when it surprised investors with news that it needed to raise $2.25 billion to shore up its balance sheet. The Silicon Valley Bank, a 40-year-old institution, had been one of the most prominent lenders in the world of technology startups. The U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the government would back Silicon Valley Bank deposits beyond the federally insured ceiling of $250,000. The decision addressed concerns around the fate of uninsured funds held at the Santa Clara, California-based bank which had $209 billion in assets and more than $175 billion in deposits..

Additional news included CVS Health finally put the rumors to rest by announcing a definitive agreement to purchase Medicare-focused primary care provider Oak Street Health in an all-cash deal valued at $10.6 billionInvitae announcing a partnership with Epic to streamline interactions with provider organizations in the Epic community, making test result information available in providers’ usual workflows so that it’s easier to use genetic insights to inform treatment decisions, Illumina launching new software to enable tertiary analysis for oncology applications, and soon rare disease and its first product enabling long-read and short-read sequencing on one instrument, and Front Line Genomics releasing their 5 edition of The Sequencing Buyer’s Guide “From sample preparation workflows and new platform releases to single-cell analysis options and data analysis tools”. Lastly, the genomic analyses of eight locks of hair attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven shed light on his chronic health problems and cause of death – Beethoven had a predisposition for liver disease and became infected with hepatitis B.

Funding / IPO

Mergers & Acquisitions

Genomic/Genetic Testing/CDx/Liquid Biopsy

(Genomics) Data Platform / Sequencing / Analysis / Instruments

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Miscellaneous

Silicon Valley Bank

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

  • COVID-origins report sparks debate over major genome hub GISAID GISAID revoked researchers’ access following the report, sparking discussion about findings based on data found in online repositories.
  • COVID-origins study links raccoon dogs to Wuhan market: what scientists think Raccoon dogs, bamboo rats, palm civets: these are just some of the animals whose DNA has been found in swabs taken from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, which has been linked to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. The swabs also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease. The analysis — posted on 20 March to the research repository Zenodo — possibly provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 spilled over from animals to humans at the market, say some researchers.

Publications

News for the month of February 2023

Funding & IPO

Precision / Genomic Medicine

(Genomics) Data Platform / Analysis / Instruments

  • Element to Present Data and Innovation Roadmap at AGBT As per their press release: With its new Cloudbreak chemistry coming in April, Element is accelerating the power of sequencing with 20 percent faster runs and a simplified workflow with Elevate linear libraries, all with superior accuracy at the industry’s lowest cost. Element provides the highest quality sequencing on a benchtop for as low as $200 a genome, or $2 per gigabase.

(Genomics) Data Platform / Analysis / Instruments

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

RWE / RWD

Miscellaneous

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Publications

News for the month of January 2023

January started off with the 41st edition of the annual JP Morgan Healthcare conference which typically provides a rich source of news across the healthcare sector, including updates on mergers and acquisitions. This year we learned about the formation of Velsera as a result of combining Seven Bridges with PierianDx and Urgentec. Velsera’s goal is to create a software platform out of science, technology, and informatics, making data actionable, accelerating the pace and including the potential of multi-omics. A more detailed summary of newsworthy activities in the various therapeutic areas can be found in Insights and Key Takeaways of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.

Another not too surprising highlight included Nature Methods calling long-read sequencing the Method of the year 2022, this after the success of the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium presenting the first ever complete human genome using long-read sequencing. The two most widely used commercial technologies are Pacific Biosciences’ Single Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) sequencing (average read length ~20 kb with >99.9% accuracy for HiFi reads) and Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ nanopore sequencing (average read length ~100 kb for ultra-long reads, ~99% accuracy for R10.4).

Additional news included Alphabet’s Verily announcing layoffs amid strategic restructuringSema4 Announcing name change to GeneDx, and the launch of the clinical trial company Paradigm with $203M in funding to build a clinical research platform for provider and pharma customers.

Funding & IPO

Mergers & Acquisitions

Precision Medicine

(Genomics) Data Platform / Analysis / Instruments

Genomic/Genetic Testing/CDx/Liquid Biopsy

CRISPR / Cas9

  • Crispr Wants to Feed the World The power to fight human diseases put genome editing on the map. But similar technology could help crops withstand the stress of climate change.

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

Miscellaneous

Cancer Vaccines

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Publications

Following are archived industry news

Industry News – 2022

Industry News – 2021

Industry News – 2020

Industry News – 2019

Industry News – 2018

Industry News – 2017

COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2

Collated COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 Information

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