PacBio selected for Korean Pangenome Reference Project

MENLO PARK/SEOUL - PacBio (NASDAQ:PACB), a $426.53 million market cap biotechnology company, has been chosen as the primary sequencing platform for the Korean Pangenome Reference Project, a national initiative led by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the company announced Monday. According to InvestingPro data, 8 analysts have recently revised their earnings upward for the upcoming period, suggesting growing confidence in the company’s prospects.

The project aims to generate the first large-scale, telomere-to-telomere quality reference genomes representing the Korean population and integrate the data into the global Human Pangenome Reference Consortium.

Following a 2024 pilot involving 200 researchers and academic participants, the program is expanding to include members of the public, with plans to sequence more than 1,000 whole genomes.

PacBio will provide an integrated sequencing solution including HiFi whole-genome sequencing, Kinnex full-length RNA analysis, and CiFi technology for chromosome-scale analysis.

"This project represents a new chapter in capturing the unique genetic diversity of the Korean population and incorporating Korean data into international reference standards," said Christian Henry, President and CEO of PacBio, in a press release statement.

The Korean Pangenome Project was announced by the Korean National Institute of Health on September 5, 2024, as part of a nationwide effort to capture the country’s genetic diversity.

This marks the first national pangenome initiative to adopt PacBio’s full technology suite, according to the company. The project is expected to support advancements in disease research, precision diagnostics, and therapeutic development in Korea. With the company’s next earnings report due on November 10, 2025, investors can access detailed analysis and 12 additional key insights through InvestingPro’s comprehensive research reports.

In other recent news, Pacific Biosciences of California reported its second-quarter 2025 financial results, surpassing revenue expectations with $39.8 million, compared to the forecasted $36.66 million. The company also posted a smaller-than-expected loss per share of $0.13, better than the anticipated loss of $0.17. In addition, Bernstein SocGen Group raised its price target for Pacific Biosciences to $1.70 from $1.50, maintaining an Outperform rating, citing promising signs of clinical uptake for the company’s systems. Pacific Biosciences has also expanded its partnership with seqWell to distribute the LongPlex Multiplexing Kit, which aims to address sample preparation challenges in genomic research. Furthermore, the company has entered the high-throughput carrier screening market with an expanded suite of PureTarget products. These products are designed to consolidate multiple specialized assays into a single test for analyzing genes associated with inherited conditions. Additionally, EpiCypher has joined Pacific Biosciences’ Compatible program, making its CUTANA Hia5 enzyme available for use with Fiber-seq assays on PacBio HiFi sequencing systems.

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