NGS Manufacturers Market - Executive Director of Translational Medicine, Top 20 Pharma

An executive director of translational medicine at a large pharmaceutical company views Illumina as a clear favorite to their needs in oncology. They are actively evaluating ThermoFisher and are familiar with Oxford Nanopore, PacBio, MGI / Complete Genomics, and Ultima. They see various niches where vendors such as Oxford Nanopore or PacBio may be ideal, such as microbiome studies or AgBio. Their greatest pain point is the minimum quantity of DNA required to be isolated out of samples. Their company requires a certain ‘lifetime’ for instruments they purchase, and when this duration is up they regularly look to purchase the newest and most advanced instrument. They believe a switch from Illumina ecosystems is possible, but would need to be done in tangent with CROs. They are hesitant about adopting newer market entrants because they are concerned about how long the vendors themselves will survive. When purchasing instruments they prioritize accuracy, the ability to characterize multiple variations, and cost.

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