Though some anticipated this 12 months’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Convention to be gentle on bulletins from subsequent era sequencing (NGS) corporations, there was a fair proportion. For instance, PacBio famous 76 orders of its new Revio instrument, whereas Full Genomics introduced that its fleet of sequencers can be found on the market in the USA for the primary time.
On Wednesday, Factor Biosciences jumped into the information cycle with an announcement of a novel pricing construction. The corporate is providing a “throughput-based mannequin” for its AVITI system. A consumer can join $138k and obtain as much as 230 kits for 1 / 4. It’s like a service contract program for the instrument, however with reagents included.
The way in which to consider this mannequin, defined Molly He, PhD, CEO of Factor, is a “genomics buffet.” Identical to an all-you-can-eat buffet on the Golden Corral—you pay a set worth, whether or not you eat one plate of pancakes or return for extra. But when you find yourself going again 3 times, the common value per pancake is far decrease.
Customers who run 3,000 30X genomes, or equal, can entry genomes for as little as $200 per genome. With 1,500 samples, the price could be roughly $400 a genome. Additionally, the normal gross sales course of will stay intact—which yields a $560 genome.
However Charlie Johnson, PhD, director, Texas A&M AgriLife Genomics and Bioinformatics Service, isn’t certain this system is smart for his facility.
“$138k 1 / 4 signifies that the machine has to usher in roughly $552k per quarter simply to cowl the rental, assuming customary margins,” he defined. “A core has to usher in $2 million a 12 months in income to cowl that. Then, I’d have to take a look at the throughput potential to see if that’s even potential with that machine.”
What sort of consumer is that this program a great match for? Levy says it’s for any laboratory that sees pattern volumes within the low lots of to low 1000’s. For individuals who need to check drive this system, Factor permits a consumer to strive this system for 1 / 4, with no additional dedication.
The San Diego–primarily based firm says that it needs to allow a versatile program that may permit a buyer to amortize a set value over the course of the 12 months. The construction delivers $200 a genome, or $2 per gigabase, on a benchtop instrument. Hitting this mark would, nevertheless, require working 3–5 AVITI devices. Clearly, this deal isn’t for everyone. However, if a consumer achieves a ballpark of three,000 genomes or extra, then they’re sequencing on the lowest worth within the trade, famous Shawn Levy, PhD, SVP of functions & scientific affairs at Factor.
The important thing factor that Factor is making an attempt to vary, famous Levy, is the mannequin that everyone has been conditioned to undertake during the last decade—that there’s a dramatically totally different value for sequencing relying on what field you select. Factor needed to develop a program that was versatile, he stated, so a consumer wouldn’t must rely their samples a month or a 12 months, however as a substitute have a predictable, whole value.
“We’re altering the paradigm that everybody’s used to,” famous Levy, “and the way in which that everybody’s been excited about genomics for a protracted, very long time.”
