Sequanta Partners with Surging Single-Cell Genomics Startup to Serve Multi-Omics Market in China

The global single-cell multi-omics market was valued at $2,458.80 million in 2020. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.0% and reach $13,908.30 million by 2030. China, the world’s second-largest economy, has especially been an attractive region for omics technologies to flourish. By 2027, the country is forecast to reach $537.3 million just in the single-cell genome sequencing market with a CAGR of 13.5%.

Gauging the trend, Shanghai-based Sequanta Technologies has entered a strategic partnership with Mission Bio, a single-cell genomics startup headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

On July 8th, both companies signed a deal under which Sequanta will provide high-quality single-cell sequencing services to customers in mainland China using Mission Bio’s products. This will help Sequanta further establish its hold as the leading multi-omics research and clinical service provider in the country. Some notable products it currently provides include FoundationOne CDx, Illumina TSO500 assay, 10x Genomics single-cell solutions, Olink Target 96, and Olink Explore 1536.

“We are pleased to become the important partner of Mission Bio on the Chinese market to promote Mission Bio’s single-cell genomics and proteomics technologies for detection of actionable biomarkers,” said Yuan Li, Ph.D. CTO of Sequanta.

“With that, Sequanta enters into a new era of providing single-cell multi-omics services to its customers, combining its bulk genomics capability with Mission Bio single-cell technology, to serve customers with comprehensive solutions for precision medicine.”

Tapestri – A Novel Multi-Omics Platform

Launched in 2012 as a UCSF spin-out firm, Mission Bio developed the first and only single-cell multi-omics platform that analyzes both genotype and phenotype. Dubbed Tapestri, the platform uses a proprietary two-step microfluidic workflow to simultaneously sequence both the DNA and the protein from the same single cell.

The multi-omics analysis reveals specific biomarkers and tumor heterogeneity and helps advance precision therapies for cancer. The Tapestri platform has been used in various studies, including research on solid tumors, the most recent ones published in Nature and Cancer Cell.

Tapestri Platform (Image credits: Mission Bio)

So far, the California startup has raised a total of $110M, with a big chunk of capital coming last year in a Series C round that yielded $70 million. With rising competition in the omics space, namely from fellow California firms, 10X Genomics and Fluidigm, Mission Bio is actively looking to impact new markets.

In 2019, the company signed a  distribution agreement with Novogene, bringing its NGS products into the expanding genomics market in China. With the Sequanta partnership, Mission Bio would be vying for pole position in China’s single-cell multi-omics market.

“Expanding the reach of our Tapestri platform will provide customers in more markets with the tools to develop treatments and potential cures for cancers and other diseases,” said Yan Zhang, CEO of Mission Bio. “We are excited to work with Sequanta, especially given their synergies with academic cancer centers and their expertise in cell and gene therapy services. Through our partnership with Sequanta, we are introducing key multi-omics methods to China that can power the next wave of critical discoveries.”

Related Article: China’s Qitan Technology Raises Over RMB400 Million in Series B Funding to Develop Nanopore Gene Sequencing

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Author

Rajaneesh K. Gopinath