Applied Biosystems has agreed to invest in, and collaborate with, VisiGen Biotechnologies, a privately held next-generation sequencing technology company
VisiGen's technological approach to DNA sequencing is based on the ability to analyse a single molecule of DNA in real time, which has the potential to drastically reduce the cost of sequencing and significantly improve throughput compared to existing commercially available technologies.
Their solution could provide a quantum leap in the scope and scale of research aimed at uncovering the genetic basis of common diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
"Applied Biosystems continues to extensively evaluate potential next-generation sequencing technologies.
"We believe that the quality of VisiGen's science and the progress towards the development of single-molecule sequencing technology is quite impressive," explained Catherine Burzik, president of Applied Biosystems.
Susan Harding, president and CEO of VisiGen, continued: "VisiGen's approach of monitoring parallel arrays of single molecules could allow large-scale sequencing projects in the areas of cancer and other diseases and could make sequencing-based targeted medicine a reality.
"This investment by Applied Biosystems, and its expertise in DNA sequencing, makes it an ideal partner for us as we work towards commercialisation."
