NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Pacific Biosciences announced this week that BGI has acquired its first Sequel System from PacBio. BGI also plans to purchase additional units in order to further integrate SMRT Sequencing into its global service business, the company added. PacBio also recently received ISO 13485 and ISO 9001 certifications for the design, development, manufacture, distribution, installation, and servicing of its nucleic acid sequencing platforms from the International Organization for Standardization.
Great Basin Scientific announced this week that it added 46 new customers in the fourth quarter of 2015, bringing the company's total number of US customers to 186, compared to 84 customers reported at the end of 2014. The company also said its Group B Streptococcus test has now been adopted by or is scheduled to be evaluated by 80 sites.
Epigenomics announced today that it has received notification from the US Food and Drug Administration that the data the company has already submitted in support of its blood-based colorectal cancer screening test Epi proColon is sufficient for the FDA to make a determination as to the safety and effectiveness. The FDA expects to make a final decision in the near future, Epigenomics added.
Veracyte announced this week that it is relocating within San Francisco in order to expand its laboratory and corporate space. The new offices and labs will be double the size of the company's current space.
Waters and UK bioscience company BioCity are teaming up to launch an open-access analytical laboratory, they announced this week. The lab, located in the BioHub at Alderley Park in England, will offer liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and informatics technologies, as well as various analytical platforms to researchers in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. It's scheduled to open early this year.
Invitae announced today that it delivered nearly 19,000 billable tests in 2015, meeting its volume guidance of 17,000 to 19,000 billable tests, and representing a more than 400 percent increase from 2014. The company delivered nearly 7,000 billable tests in Q4, and said it plans to deliver between 50,000 and 70,000 billable tests in 2016.
Becton Dickinson announced today that it has sold its BD Rx business to Fresenius Kabi, which investment bank Evercore ISI called a "slight positive" move for the company. The business unit, which BD launched in 2013, consists of the Simplist line of prefilled injectables. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Claritas Genomics announced today that it has received ISO 15189 accreditation by A2LA after a review of its quality management system and competence to perform the more than 100 molecular diagnostic tests on Claritas' menu.
In Brief This Week is a selection of news items that may be of interest to our readers but had not previously appeared on the GenomeWeb site.