In the field of "life code reader" gene sequencer, the latest nanopore sequencing technology is being preemptively registered by equipment manufacturers.

Two months ago, MGI (688114. SH) announced that it will commercialize the nanopore sequencer developed and produced by BGI Sequencer. On September 9, BGI Group released two "nanopore gene sequencers" with independent intellectual property rights, namely nanopore sequencer CycloneSEQ-WT02 (hereinafter referred to as "WT02", Chinese name "Wutong") and CycloneSEQ-WY01 (hereinafter referred to as "WY01", Chinese name "Wuyue").

So far, MGI has become the first sequencing equipment manufacturer in the world to integrate the three popular businesses of high-throughput sequencing, nanopore sequencing, and spatiotemporal omics in the field of sequencing. On June 11 this year, MGI announced that it had obtained the intellectual property license and exclusive sales right of the complete set of spatiotemporal omics products and nanopore sequencers of the sister company to expand the downstream scientific research and clinical application market.

According to the data of Xinsijie Industry Research Center, high-throughput sequencing technology still dominates the current market, accounting for about 50% and 60% of the number of enterprises and products in 2023, respectively, however, the number of nanopore sequencing companies has increased to 30%, and the proportion of products has reached 13%, and this new sequencing technology is expected to grow rapidly.

The nanopore sequencer is characterized by its small size and lightness, which breaks through the limitations of traditional sequencing central laboratories. MGI also said in its semi-annual report that high-throughput and miniaturization are the development trends of gene sequencing and laboratory automation instruments and equipment, among which the characteristics of small, medium and desktop sequencers can flexibly meet the needs of a variety of special scenarios due to their strong applicability, portability and ease of operation.

Dong Yuliang, general manager of BGI, said that the nanopore sequencer can do some small genome or targeted genome sequencing, which is suitable for most life science-related laboratories and is a device accessible to universities, scientific research institutions, hospitals, disease control, customs, etc.

The WT02 is a medium-throughput nanopore gene sequencer with a dual-chip architecture, which has a low single sequencing cost, no need to make up samples, and can output sequencing results in real time. WY01 is a high-throughput nanopore sequencer, equipped with high-throughput high-density chips, with ultra-long read length and persistent continuous detection performance, which can be applied to application scenarios with higher data throughput requirements, such as large genomes, human genome resequencing, full-length transcriptome sequencing, and epigenetic testing.

Jiang Hui, chief operating officer of MGI, said that including early test installations, the overall installed capacity of nanopore sequencers has reached 50 to 60 units, and 4 instruments and equipment have won bids through public bidding, including universities, scientific research institutions, disease control and hospitals.

Currently, the WT02 is open to order, while the WY01 is scheduled to be available in the first half of 2025.

For MGI, the gene sequencer business is the main source of revenue. In the first half of 2024, the company's revenue was 1.209 billion yuan, of which the sequencer business achieved revenue of 1.005 billion yuan, accounting for more than 83% of the total revenue, and in the second quarter, the sequencer business increased by 23.61% quarter-on-quarter. In the first half of the year, the company added 454 new sequencers to sales, setting a new high in the number of installed units sold in the same period in history, and as of the end of the reporting period, the cumulative sales of installed capacity exceeded 3,700 units.

With the launch of the nanopore sequencer, MGI's main business has added new downstream sales scenarios, which may help drive the growth of this business segment, but it should be noted that the nanopore sequencer market is not a blue ocean, and equipment manufacturers have launched related products before this, and 6 products from 3 companies have been commercialized.