Pacific Biosciences

PacBio was founded with the goal of developing a Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) approach for nucleic acid sequencing. This concept was initially developed at Cornell University in the Laboratories of Watt Webb and Harold Craighead. Cornell has been a preeminent world leader in nanotechnology research for more than 25 years, and leads the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN)—an integrated partnership of 13 facilities.

Our mission is to transform the way humankind acquires, processes and interprets data from living systems through the design, development and commercialization of innovative tools for biological research.

We have developed a novel approach to studying the synthesis and regulation of DNA, RNA and protein. Combining recent advances in nanofabrication, biochemistry, molecular biology, surface chemistry and optics, we created a powerful technology platform called single molecule, real-time, or SMRT, technology. SMRT technology enables real-time analysis of biomolecules with single molecule resolution, which has the potential to transform our understanding of biological systems by providing a window into these systems that has not previously been open for scientific study.