Is the cost of gene sequencing dropping from $10 million to $1,000 a start-up?

Genes can help us with disease, fertility, and drug response.
advances in technology, the cost of gene sequencing has dropped dramatically since the Human Genome Project.
now costs $1,000, up from about $10 million a decade ago, and with the development of artificial intelligence, genetic technology can create more and more value.
With the listing of Berry and Kang and Hua da gene, gene sequencing as the representative of the field of gene science and technology has regained the favor of the market, investment and financing market is hot, August 18, Main Bio received 10 million yuan Pre-A round of financing, August 2, 23 Rubik's Cube completed 40 million yuan B round of financing.
will use some data today to analyze the current state of investment and trends in the field of gene technology.
the first seven months of this year, the amount of financing exceeded that of the whole of last year since 2013, a total of 473 investments in the global gene technology sector, a total of $6.5 billion.
65 transactions in the year to the end of July 2017 totaled $1,852 million, more than the total for the whole of 2016, largely due to high funding from cancer detection companies Grail and Freenome.
interest in genomics over the past few years has led to a number of new early stage financings, particularly in 2015 and 2016, which increased rapidly.
trend has slowed, and as start-ups mature, 2017 will see more mid- to late-stage deals.
the increase in mid- to late-stage projects was accompanied by an increase in the value of individual transactions, such as Grail's $914 million round of B financing in the first quarter of this year and Guardant Health's $360 million round of E financing in the second quarter of this year.
while mid- to late-stage trading is growing, exit activity is slowing.
a total of 16 exit projects as of July this year, which would be less than the 32 exits in 2016.
's most prominent exit this year was the launch of Huada Gene and the $1 billion cash acquisition of Ambry Genetics, a US cancer genetic testing company, by Japanese digital imaging technology company Konica Minolta.
because genetic technology is both a cutting-edge technology/software technology and an area of biology, it has attracted a wide range of investors in both industries.
both consumers of gene technology, including corporate and individual consumers, have also attracted professional investors from ToB and ToC.
's leading investors in gene technology include Y Combinator, Illumina and Polaries Partners.
We can see that due to the strong expertise of gene technology, the proportion of enterprise investment institutions in this field is relatively high compared to other industries, and the proportion of enterprises participating in the field of gene technology in 2016 reached 25%.
six of the top 10 deals, including InVitae, Human Longevity and Nanopore.
Among corporate investors, the most active are manufacturers of genetic testing equipment, such as Illumina, or large pharmaceutical companies such as Roche, and some technology companies, such as Google and GE, are interested in the field.
2, the industry chain in the most common areas of genetic technology for companies related to individual health and medical care is very simple, including sample collection, gene sequencing, and software analysis.
most enterprises focus on a specific part of the chain, and some are perpendicular to a particular area and integrate multiple processes.
most common genetic companies focus on areas of application related to individual health (e.g., healthier lifestyle advice) and medical (e.g. disease risk, laboratory analysis, etc.).
that the FDA does not regulate individual health because it directly serves consumers and does not provide diagnostics.
because consumers often pay for these tests themselves, which means that price is the main factor, the business in this area is very difficult and the analysis and use of the collected data is poor.
companies in healthcare-related areas often have larger, better customers because they provide analysis, diagnosis, and interpretation of results, but they also face tighter regulation and must sell within the healthcare system.
combination of individual health and medical-related areas is the ability to perform both medical-level diagnostic analysis and patient-oriented preventive medicine, which is usually included in health insurance.
3, gene sequencing, gene screening and other most capital concerns below let's introduce the gene technology industry more recently more capital-focused areas, and which players.
software: Tools to help researchers understand and analyze data by integrating multiple data streams.
major players include Photosphorus, Fabric Genomics, Spiral Genetics and Medley Genomics.
use ctDNA technology for tumor fluid biopsies: Some companies are experimenting with non-invasive tissue testing technology to find fragments of DNA that come off cancer cells in the blood so they can be found early in cancer.
major players include Grail, Freenome, Guardant Health and Perssonal Genome Diagnostics.
next-generation gene sequencing: Sequencing start-ups are working to reduce the cost of gene sequencing and even make new technologies or make smaller, more portable sequencing devices.
major players include 10X Genomics, miniPCR, GenapSys and Blueprint Genetics.
genetic screening and health: Gene screening companies help people better plan for health by analyzing patient samples to determine the status of their carriers and other potential tendencies.
major players include 23andMe, Guardant Health, Counsyl and Color Genomics.
General technology for plants, animals, or fungi: Some companies in the field of gene technology are also applying gene technology to other non-human systems, with faster closed-loop formation and lower risk, clearer strategies for commercialization and market entry, and clear buyers.
major players include Embark Veterinary, Trace Genomics, Hexagon Bio and TL Biolabs.
4, gene editing will no longer be far away as gene technology itself develops and the amount of data increases, we will see more applications and services.
better medications, health plans and personal solutions will stand out in the field of application.
gene editing will no longer be out of reach, with the development of CRISPR, several gene editing companies have successfully financed and entered the public market.
more gene technology companies are also looking for gene expression so that CRISPR can be used for gene editing.
with the accumulation of genomic data, the future of data attribution and how to use this data is also a big problem.
is arguably one of the most personalized data sets in the world, and having it is a better way to advance gene technology.
But we are still in the early stages of understanding the effects of genetics in medicine, and genomic data alone is far from explaining everything, and other variables, such as the environment, must be understood.
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