PacBio begins commercialization of the Onso short-read sequencing system
7 Aug 2023
PacBio, a developer of high-quality, accurate sequencing solutions, recently announced that customer shipments of Onso short-read sequencing instruments have begun. The Onso system is designed to provide accuracy through its novel sequencing by binding (SBB) chemistry in a user-friendly and flexible benchtop platform.
With Onso’s potential to achieve Q40+ levels of accuracy (one error in 10,000 bases), PacBio believes scientists will have the opportunity to gain more insight into ctDNA research applications like minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring and other 'needle-in-haystack' applications which require highly sensitive variant detection. This may ultimately allow researchers to detect rare variants missed by other short-read technologies.
In addition, it is stated this level of accuracy can add value to common mid-throughput sequencer applications such as exome sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and targeted panels to support inherited disease and oncology research.
PacBio plans to launch library preparation solutions to support a wide range of sample types, and library conversion kits to allow existing third-party libraries to be sequenced on the Onso system.
The Onso system is designed to deliver 400 to 500 million reads during a 48-hour sequencing cycle (for 2×150 paired-end reads). PacBio plans to offer 200- and 300-cycle kit configurations enabling paired- and single-end reads. The system list price in the U.S. is $259,000.