SomaGenics, Rubicon Announce Agreement

SomaGenics Inc. has announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Rubicon Genomics, Inc. for commercialization of SomaGenics’ RealSeq®-AC library preparation technology for sequencing small RNAs, including micro-RNAs and small fragments of large RNAs. Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The RealSeq®-AC platform is a novel technology that dramatically reduces sequencing bias compared to standard methods for preparing libraries for small RNA sequencing.

RealSeq®-AC allows detection and discovery of many small RNAs that are often underestimated by up to 104-fold of their true abundance. “We are excited to commercialize our RealSeq®-AC technology with Rubicon Genomics, given their impressive product portfolio and market position in the area of next generation sequencing sample preparation,” said Brian Johnston, Ph.D., President and CEO of SomaGenics.

Rubicon Genomics is a leading worldwide provider of pre-analytical library preparation kits that increase the accuracy, efficiency and speed of genomic analysis. It offers a diverse product line including ThruPLEX® DNA-seq kits, ThruPLEX® Plasma-seq kits, PicoPLEX® DNA-seq and WGA kits and TransPLEX® C-WTA kits.

Rubicon CEO James Koziarz, Ph.D., commented, “We are very pleased to add SomaGenics’ technology to Rubicon’s proprietary suite of products as they nicely complement and expand our RNA offerings. We currently sell TransPLEX kits as a component of Agendia’s FDA-cleared MammaPrint® breast cancer assay and ThruPLEX® through our OEM relationship with Clontech for their RNA-seq Low Input Library Prep kit. The RealSeq®-AC technology allows us to further expand our RNA library preparation line with a product that offers performance superior to existing technologies. SomaGenics’ exceptional development work on the technology will enable our product development and commercialization teams to move towards a smooth and timely launch.”