ZS Genetics, HTA sign strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize unique third-generation, single-molecule DNA sequencing platform

ZS Genetics’ proprietary technologies, based on high-resolution electron microscopy (EM), will allow the scientific community for the first time to sequence very high-quality long reads (50,000+ base-pairs) of single DNA molecules. The scientific value of very long-read, single-molecule DNA sequencing has been an imperative for many years to more fully address the industry’s critical work across the most complex diseases, as well as novel genomic discovery initiatives. 

 “The rapidly increasing complexity of scientific discovery continues to reinforce the need for higher quality and more scientifically rich DNA sequencing capabilities,” said ZS Genetics’ chief executive officer, John A. McCarthy, Jr. “The technical capabilities of our two companies are expected to produce a DNA sequencing platform capable of enabling unique scientific discovery, as well as offering a powerful tool to complement and broaden current short-read sequencing technologies. Combining ZS Genetics’ proprietary long-read technologies with HTA's leadership in high-resolution EM is expected to accelerate the introduction of this important technology into leading scientific institutions.”

“We are very pleased to be collaborating with ZS Genetics and their broad team of industry thought leaders to accelerate the introduction of this unique and powerful application of high-resolution EM into the scientific community,” stated Phil Bryson, vice president and general manager of HTA’s Nanotechnology Systems Division. “We are confident that HTA’s decades-long leadership in high-resolution EM for highly complex applications in R&D and industry can translate readily into this powerful and important new application for the life sciences industry.”

ZS Genetics plans to initiate an early-access centre in its Wakefield, Massachusetts facility later in 2017 for product and application development in collaboration with select customer and supply-chain partners. Other details and terms of the strategic product development relationship between ZS Genetics and HTA are not being disclosed.

ZS Genetics, Inc. is a privately held Massachusetts company focused on developing and commercializing a unique “Third-Generation” DNA sequencing technology platform for the global scientific community. 

Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, is a privately owned global affiliate company that operates within the Hitachi Group Companies. HTA sells and services semiconductor manufacturing equipment, analytical instrumentation, scientific instruments, and bio-related products, as well as industrial equipment, electronic devices, and electronic and industrial materials.

Zs genetics, hta sign strategic collaboration, develop and commercialize uniquem, third-generation, single-molecule, dna sequencing platform