Expanding Access to Single-Cell and Spatial Omics Technologies

MGI Tech Co., Ltd. (“MGI”), a company committed to building core tools and technologies that drive innovation in life science, today announced a commercial partnership with the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) consortium to further accelerate the human cell mapping initiative. Aimed at facilitating the wider adoption of single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics technologies globally, MGI will expand access to its proprietary products within the HCA network by providing discounted rates to collaborating members.

Enhancing Collaborative Research Efforts

“Cutting-edge single-cell and spatial genomics are important driving forces for the HCA project,” said John Randell, HCA Chief Alliance Officer. “MGI's involvement in the HCA discount program will enhance the efforts of our collaborative members and help fuel HCA's progress and new scientific discoveries.”

Under this partnership, HCA members will gain greater access to MGI’s cost-effective and scalable single-cell and spatial omics solutions. Additionally, MGI will provide support to members in experimental design, assay execution, and bioinformatic analysis when applying MGI’s technologies to their research.

MGI’s Innovative Single-Cell Technologies

First introduced in 2019, MGI’s single-cell series has become one of the company’s main product lines. Based on the core DNBSEQ™ technology, the series addresses the diverse demands of single-cell research by offering users a comprehensive and user-friendly solution. The DNBelab C-Tai™ 4 portable droplet generator, the latest addition to MGI’s single-cell lineup, is meticulously crafted to facilitate high-throughput single-cell 3'RNA, 5'RNA & V(D)J, ATAC in any setting. This compact yet robust device seamlessly integrates dual-bead cell capture, a microfluidic droplet generator, state-of-the-art computing modules, and other advanced technologies to enable intricate genomic analyses anytime, anywhere.

Advancements in Spatial Omics with STOmics

Starting June 2024, MGI also became an official distributor of STOmics-related products, opening access to cutting-edge advancements in spatial omics for the scientific community. STOmics' proprietary Stereo-seq technology has revolutionized spatial multi-omics research with its large field of view, nanoscale resolution, unbiased whole transcriptome capture, and multi-omics solutions. Its applications span diverse fields, including developmental biology, organ atlas mapping, neuroscience, and digital pathology. To date, it has contributed to over 60 publications in top-tier journals like Cell, Science, Nature, and Cell Research.

Commitment to Global Scientific Discovery

“We are proud to support HCA researchers worldwide in this important effort to uncover the intricate details of how the genes in our cells shape life,” said Duncan Yu, President at MGI. “Leveraging MGI’s highly sensitive and specific tools with comprehensive coverage, this partnership will allow the HCA community to push the boundaries of single-cell genomics and spatial omics further, with broad implications for scientific discovery and disease research.”

About the Human Cell Atlas

The HCA is a global collaborative research consortium that is creating comprehensive reference maps of all human cells in the healthy body to drive major advances in healthcare and medicine worldwide. Founded in 2016, it has grown to more than 3,600 HCA members from over 100 countries around the world. To date, the global HCA community has profiled tens of millions of cells from nearly 10,000 individuals and produced more than 400 HCA scientific publications, delivering fundamental insights into human biology and diseases.

MGI’s Ongoing Support for HCA Research

Over the years, MGI has been empowering scientists and researchers globally in frontier life science research with cutting-edge tools, facilitating advances and discoveries in the understanding of human cells. The company has been actively supporting HCA research since 2018. Notably, in 2019, at a European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) workshop on Single Cell Biology, Dr. Sarah Teichmann, co-founder and principal leader of the HCA consortium, shared her systematic evaluation workflow for single-cell RNA sequencing using MGI’s platforms.

Earlier this year, MGI participated in the HCA Single-cell Omics Workshop in Bangkok to connect with members and promote its advanced technology. Following that, the company will be present at the HCA Asia 2024 Meeting, taking place in Hong Kong from December 3 to 4. MGI welcomes researchers and scientists worldwide to participate, exchange ideas, and explore partnership opportunities.