NEW YORK – Standard BioTools and Next Gen Diagnostics (NGD) said Monday that they have signed a long-term partnership toward automating sample preparation for pathogen whole-genome sequencing.
Under the terms of the exclusive agreement, Standard BioTools will manufacture the NGD-100, a version of its Biomark X9 system customized for NGD and optimized for library preparation for pathogen WGS.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"With the cost of bacterial sequencing now under $10 per sample, the cost of sample preparation and bioinformatic analysis of the results have become the last remaining practical bottlenecks preventing the widespread use of pathogen WGS," NGD Founder and CEO Paul Rhodes said in a statement. The partnership will allow NGD "to offer integrated pathogen sequencing and bioinformatic services with the rapid turnaround and low cost required for large-scale impact on infection control and ultimately on clinical microbiology."
Standard BioTools launched NGS library prep functionality on the Biomark X9 in May 2023.
Fluidigm, which changed its name to Standard BioTools in 2022, and NGD partnered on sample preparation for pathogen WGS in 2020. The firms had planned to integrate Fluidigm's Juno microfluidic system into NGD's workflows.
"We have worked closely with NGD to develop this strategic partnership between our companies," Standard BioTools Chief Operating Officer Alex Kim said in a statement. "We see an enormous market in pathogen genomics, which is clearly reaching a long-awaited inflection point."