MWG Biotech Purchases Second Genome Sequencer FLX System to Expand Capacities in Line with Growing Sequencing Demand

454 Life Sciences, a centre of excellence of Roche Applied Science, today announced that MWG Biotech, a European market leader in genome sequencing services, is further expanding its 454 Sequencing capacity in order to meet the demands of a steadily increasing number of sequencing customers across Europe.

The newly acquired Genome Sequencer FLX system is MWG Biotech’s second purchase of this kind. With the new addition, MWG Biotech is now in a position to provide even higher throughput, reliability, and process security to their customers. The company’s sequencing solution is supported by proprietary customised bioinformatics.

The second Genome Sequencer FLX system will offer MWG Biotech more flexibility for the development of new applications and for meeting specific customer requirements at attractive prices. An additional major benefit is that MWG Biotech will again be able to set completely new standards in the quality and turn around time of whole genome sequencing and a wide range of genome analysis applications.

“With the purchase of the second Genome Sequencer FLX system we are further expanding our competitive edge as leading provider of genome sequencing services”, says Dr. Bruno Poddevin, COO of MWG Biotech. “Our advanced instrumentation combined with the expertise of our team of experienced sequencing scientists and our efficient proprietary bioinformatics tools is an attractive package for more and more sequencing customers worldwide who are entrusting their projects to us as their sequencing provider of choice.”

One Genome Sequencer FLX system is able to process 400,000 reads with an average read length of 250 base pairs, resulting in 100 million base pairs generated in only 7.5 hours. The system’s long read length enables it to generate high-quality, comprehensive results. To analyze a 5 MB bacterial genome, a process which used to take up to several months with the Sanger method, MWG Biotech can sequence and compare the complete genome in just a few days.

“We applaud MWG’s commitment to quality. From sequencing to data analysis to support, MWG provides their customers with a complete solution and powerful results,” said Chris McLeod, President of 454 Life Sciences. “MWG’s acquisition of a second Genome Sequencer FLX underscores the system’s role as the standard in next-generation sequencing. With multiple options on the market today, MWG has chosen the sequencing solution that will provide its customers with the highest quality and most comprehensive results from their genomic samples.”

454 Life Sciences develops and commercializes the innovative Genome Sequencer system for ultra-high-throughput DNA sequencing. Specific applications include de novo sequencing and re-sequencing of genomes, metagenomics, RNA analysis, and targeted sequencing of DNA regions of interest. The hallmarks of 454 Sequencing are its simple, unbiased sample preparation and long, highly accurate sequence reads, including paired reads. Sequencing technology of 454 has enabled many peer-reviewed studies in diverse research fields such as cancer and infectious disease research, drug discovery, marine biology, anthropology, paleontology and many more.