Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences — equipment manufacturer for sequencing (determination of the sequence) of DNA.

History

2018: Illumina purchased Pacific Biosciences for $1.2 billion

At the beginning of November, 2018 Illumina announced purchase of Pacific Biosciences for $1.2 billion. Thus, the leading equipment manufacturers for DNA interpretation integrate. Execute all formalities concerning this transaction including get approvals of regulators, it is planned to the middle of 2019.

According to CNBC, merger of Pacific Biosciences will allow llumina to strengthen a dominant position in the field of DNA sequencing. Large services for conducting genetic test, like Ancestry, 23andMe and Color Genomics, most likely, use the equipment of Illumina company at which by the beginning of November, 2018 market capitalization makes about $45 billion.

The equipment for interpretation of DNA from Illumina company

It is considered that llumina possess the main merits in reduction of prices of   DNA sequencing: if in 2000 it costed $2.7 billion, in the 2007th — $10 million, then in the 2018th — less than $1 thousand.

The experts polled by TV channel say that Pacific Biosciences technologies will give to Illumina what the company does not have.

Illumina takes the dominating position in business which is the new great place for monopoly. But this leadership is based on technology of sequencing using short readings  and the offer of competitive price. When we undertake determination of the sequence of all genome, there are several things which are difficult for making by means of Illumina technology — the biologist and the chief researcher of a biotechnology startup of Veritas Genetics Preston Estep said.

Pacific Biosciences develops technology of interpretation of DNA by means of long readings that allows to receive effective results when, for example, it is necessary to understand whether both copies a gene are damaged or only one in two different places — it is very important for understanding of a disease.^[1]

Notes