This story has been updated to include a partnership with Ultima Genomics announced Wednesday.
NEW YORK — Olink said this week that it is collaborating with Singular Genomics, Element Biosciences, and Ultima Genomics to enable readout of its Olink Explore proteomics platform on those companies' next-generation sequencing platforms.
The deals are part of Olink's move to expand beyond Illumina's NovaSeq sequencer, which it began using for readout of the Explore system in 2020. The company aims to make Explore compatible with Singular's Max Read kits on its G4 sequencing system, Element's Aviti system, and Ultima's sequencing system.
Olink and Element presented findings from a proof-of-concept study at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology annual meeting in Orlando this week.
Olink's Explore platform is based on its proximity extension assay technology (PEA), which uses pairs of antibodies linked to oligonucleotides that are brought into proximity when the antibodies bind and are then extended and amplified by a DNA polymerase, creating a unique sequence tag that can be used as a surrogate marker for the target protein. The platform can currently measure roughly 3,000 proteins per assay, and Olink plans to expand that to around 4,500 proteins later this year.
During Olink's Q1 earnings call, CEO Jon Heimer said the company is collaborating with "multiple partners" to allow users to read out data from the Explore platform on "several of the new sequencing instruments entering the market."
"Singular is excited to be working with Olink to create a unique solution with the Max Read kits," Drew Spaventa, CEO and founder of Singular Genomics, said in a statement. "Olink's short-read proteomics readout is an ideal application for the Max Read kits, where the goal is to drastically increase throughput and reduce cost for short-read applications."
"Olink’s Explore technology is a great example of how the Aviti System benchtop sequencer — with its flexible sequencing configurations and high data quality — can have an impact beyond DNA sequencing by providing users high performance and low-cost access to other areas of investigation," Shawn Levy, senior VP of applications and scientific affairs at Element Biosciences, said in a statement.