Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences, commonly known as PacBio, is an American biotechnology company that develops and supplies genomic analysis systems, sequencing reagents, consumables, software, and related services. The company is best known for single-molecule real-time sequencing, or SMRT sequencing, a long-read approach designed to observe DNA synthesis as it occurs rather than relying exclusively on short fragments that must later be reconstructed computationally. PacBio's technology has been used in research involving whole genomes, complex genomic regions, structural variation, transcript isoforms, microbial genomes, plant and animal genetics, and other applications where long contiguous reads can improve the interpretation of biological sequence data. The company was founded in 2004 from research associated with Cornell University. That work brought together semiconductor processing, photonics, and biotechnology. The early company operated under the name Nanofluidics, Inc., before becoming Pacific Biosciences. Its development program attracted substantial venture financing from investors including Mohr Davidow Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Alloy Ventures, and the Wellcome Trust. PacBio completed its initial public offering on the Nasdaq in October 2010 under the ticker PACB. PacBio's first commercial sequencing instrument, the PacBio RS, was supplied to a limited group of customers in 2010 and released commercially in early 2011. It was followed by the PacBio RS II in 2013 and the smaller Sequel System in 2015. Later systems, including Sequel II, Sequel IIe, and Revio, sought to increase accuracy, throughput, and operational efficiency while reducing the cost and physical footprint associated with long-read sequencing. Customers generally purchase instruments together with sequencing reagents and disposable SMRT Cells, which contain arrays of zero-mode waveguides used to detect fluorescent signals from individual sequencing reactions. PacBio's business also includes bioinformatics. Earlier instruments were supported by SMRT Analysis, while the Sequel family used SMRT Link for instrument management, primary and secondary analysis, and workflow execution. The company has also released or supported tools for genome assembly, polishing, and other forms of sequence interpretation. Its technology portfolio expanded beyond conventional SMRT sequencing through sequencing-by-binding chemistry, which uses native nucleotides and is intended to provide a complementary route to high-accuracy genomic analysis. PacBio occupies a specialist position in the sequencing market. Its principal differentiation is long-read data and the ability to resolve repetitive, structurally complex, or otherwise difficult genomic regions that can be challenging for short-read methods. Its customers include academic and government research institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, clinical laboratories, agricultural researchers, and commercial sequencing-service providers. The company operates in competition with larger sequencing vendors and other long-read technology developers, while also participating in a market where platforms are frequently combined rather than used as exact substitutes. A major strategic event occurred in 2018, when Illumina agreed to acquire PacBio for cash. United States antitrust authorities challenged the transaction, and the deal was abandoned in January 2020. PacBio remained an independent public company and continued investing in higher-throughput long-read platforms. In October 2022, it introduced the Revio system, which was presented as a substantial increase in annual human-genome sequencing capacity compared with earlier PacBio instruments. The company remains an active genomics technology brand, with its commercial identity centered on long-read sequencing, high-fidelity genomic data, and integrated laboratory and bioinformatics workflows.

Pacific Biosciences emerged from university research that combined photonics, semiconductor fabrication, and molecular biology. The work associated with Cornell University researchers, including Watt W. Webb and Harold Craighead, helped establish the scientific basis for observing individual biochemical reactions in real time. Researchers and engineers connected with that program, including Jonas Korlach, Steve Turner, and Mathieu Foquet, became part of the early company. The venture initially operated as Nanofluidics, Inc. and was later reorganized under the Pacific Biosciences name. The company pursued a sequencing architecture based on zero-mode waveguides, nanoscale structures that allow fluorescent signals from individual DNA synthesis reactions to be detected against a low background. This approach became known as single-molecule real-time, or SMRT, sequencing. Unlike methods that first amplify large populations of DNA molecules, the platform was designed to monitor single polymerase molecules while they incorporate labeled nucleotides. The resulting long reads offered a potential advantage in assembling genomes and identifying structural variation, repetitive regions, and other features that are difficult to reconstruct from short sequence fragments. PacBio raised roughly $400 million through several rounds of predominantly venture financing before its public offering. Investors identified in accounts of the company's early development included Mohr Davidow Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Alloy Ventures, and the Wellcome Trust. Hugh Martin, who had been an entrepreneur-in-residence at Kleiner Perkins, became chief executive officer in 2004. PacBio entered the public market on Nasdaq in October 2010, a period when sequencing companies were seeking capital to commercialize increasingly specialized genomic technologies. The first PacBio RS instruments reached a limited customer base in 2010 and became commercially available in early 2011. The RS platform established the company's instrument-and-consumables model: customers purchased a sequencer and recurring reagent supplies, including disposable SMRT Cells. GATC Biotech was selected as an early European sequencing-service provider. PacBio released the PacBio RS II in April 2013, offering improvements over the initial instrument in read length and throughput. During this period the company also developed analysis software, including SMRT Analysis and tools such as HGAP for automated genome assembly and Quiver for sequence polishing and finishing. Michael Hunkapiller became chief executive officer in January 2012, succeeding Martin. Under Hunkapiller, the company continued to refine the SMRT platform and broaden its commercial reach. In September 2015, PacBio introduced the Sequel System. Compared with the RS II, Sequel was designed to occupy less laboratory space while providing greater sequencing capacity and a lower entry cost. The Sequel family was subsequently extended through later generations, including Sequel II and Sequel IIe, with improvements in accuracy, throughput, instrument control, and integrated analysis. SMRT Link became the principal software environment associated with the Sequel platform. PacBio's development was shaped by the economics of sequencing. Long-read systems can generate information that is difficult to obtain through short-read approaches, but they require specialized instruments, consumables, sample preparation, and computational workflows. The company therefore focused on applications where read continuity and accuracy could justify the platform's use, including de novo genome assembly, structural-variant analysis, transcript sequencing, microbial genomics, and research on complex inherited disease. Its customer base included research institutions, sequencing-service providers, pharmaceutical organizations, and agricultural genomics groups. In November 2018, Illumina announced an agreement to acquire PacBio for approximately $1.2 billion in cash. The transaction was subject to regulatory review because the two companies were important suppliers in the DNA-sequencing market. In December 2019, the United States Federal Trade Commission brought an action seeking to block the transaction. The parties abandoned the deal in January 2020. Illumina later agreed to pay PacBio a $98 million termination fee, together with extension payments previously agreed in connection with the transaction. PacBio consequently continued as an independent public company. Christian Henry, previously an Illumina executive and later a PacBio board member, became chief executive officer in September 2020 after Hunkapiller retired. The company continued to invest in both its existing SMRT technology and additional chemistry. In October 2022, PacBio launched Revio, a new sequencing system intended to increase throughput substantially and make accurate long-read sequencing more practical for larger projects. The company has also described sequencing-by-binding as a complementary technology, using native nucleotides and scarless incorporation during DNA binding and extension. PacBio remains an active genomics company whose brand is closely associated with long-read sequencing. Its business combines capital equipment, recurring consumables, software, and application support. The company competes with short-read sequencing providers as well as other developers of long-read technologies, while laboratories may use several sequencing platforms together depending on the biological question, required accuracy, sample type, and project scale.

1. 2022Revio launched

   PacBio introduced Revio, a higher-throughput sequencing platform aimed at scaling accurate long-read sequencing.

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2. 2020Acquisition agreement terminated

   The proposed Illumina acquisition was abandoned after the United States FTC sought to block it.

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3. 2018Illumina announces acquisition agreement

   Illumina agreed to acquire PacBio in an all-cash transaction, subject to regulatory approval.

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4. 2015Sequel System launched

   The Sequel System expanded sequencing capacity in a smaller instrument format and at a lower price point than the RS II.

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5. 2013PacBio RS II introduced

   PacBio released the RS II, an updated sequencing instrument with longer reads and higher throughput than the original RS.

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6. 2011PacBio RS commercial release

   The company's first commercial sequencing instrument became broadly available after an initial limited-customer introduction.

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7. 2010Initial public offering

   PacBio completed its Nasdaq initial public offering under the ticker PACB and supplied early PacBio RS instruments to selected customers.

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8. 2004Company founded

   Pacific Biosciences was established from research combining photonics, semiconductor processing, and biotechnology; the early venture operated under the name Nanofluidics, Inc.

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A specialist genomics technology provider differentiated by long-read sequencing, high-fidelity sequence data, and platforms designed to resolve complex genomic structures that can be difficult to characterize with short-read methods.

• PacBio RSSequencing instrument2010

  PacBio's first commercial sequencing platform. It used SMRT technology and zero-mode waveguides to observe DNA synthesis at the single-molecule level. The instrument was introduced to a limited customer group in 2010 and commercially released in early 2011, establishing PacBio's instrument, reagent, and disposable SMRT Cell business model.

• PacBio RS IISequencing instrument2013

  The RS II was the second major generation of PacBio's SMRT sequencing instrument. Introduced in 2013, it was designed to improve read length and throughput over the original RS and supported applications such as genome assembly, microbial sequencing, and analysis of complex genomic regions.

• Sequel SystemSequencing instrument2015

  Launched in 2015, the Sequel System moved PacBio's long-read technology into a smaller instrument form factor while increasing capacity and reducing the price relative to the RS II. It was supported by the company's SMRT Cell consumables and SMRT Link software environment.

• Sequel II and Sequel IIeSequencing instruments

  The Sequel II generation extended the Sequel platform with increased performance and accuracy for long-read sequencing. Sequel IIe added more integrated computing and analysis capabilities, helping laboratories process and interpret sequencing data within a broader instrument-to-results workflow.

• RevioHigh-throughput sequencing instrument2022

  Revio is PacBio's high-throughput long-read sequencing system, introduced in 2022. It was designed to make accurate long-read sequencing practical for substantially larger projects, including population-scale and human-genome applications, by increasing annual sequencing capacity compared with earlier PacBio systems.

• SMRT CellsSequencing consumable

  SMRT Cells are disposable sequencing consumables used with PacBio instruments. They contain arrays of zero-mode waveguides where individual DNA polymerase reactions are observed. Newer generations use denser arrays than early cells, supporting greater throughput from each sequencing run.

• SMRT LinkBioinformatics software

  SMRT Link is PacBio's software environment for managing sequencing instruments, runs, data processing, and analysis workflows. It replaced the earlier SMRT Analysis organization associated with the RS platform and supports applications connected with the Sequel family and later systems.

• 2022Launch Revio high-throughput sequencing systemProduct launch

  PacBio sought to expand the addressable market for accurate long-read sequencing by improving throughput and operational scale.

  What changed. The company introduced Revio as a new sequencing system capable of processing substantially more genomic material than earlier PacBio platforms.

  Aftermath. Revio became a central platform in PacBio's effort to support larger human-genome, population-genomics, and other high-volume sequencing projects.

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• 2018Accept Illumina's acquisition proposalM&A

  Illumina and PacBio announced an agreement under which Illumina would acquire PacBio for approximately $1.2 billion in cash. Completion required regulatory approval.

  What changed. PacBio entered into the proposed transaction, which was then reviewed by United States competition authorities.

  Aftermath. The FTC sued to block the acquisition in December 2019, and the transaction was abandoned in January 2020. Illumina agreed to pay PacBio a $98 million termination fee plus previously agreed extension payments.

  Proposed acquisition value. Approximately $1.2 billion cash offer; transaction later terminated with a $98 million termination fee and $22 million plus $6 million in extension payments (2018-2020)

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• 2022PacBio launches the Revio sequencing system

  PacBio introduced Revio, a higher-throughput sequencing platform designed to expand the practical use of accurate long-read sequencing, including large-scale human genome projects.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2020Illumina-PacBio transaction is abandoned

  The proposed acquisition was terminated after regulatory opposition. Illumina agreed to pay PacBio a termination fee and previously agreed extension payments.

  M&ARegulation
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• 2019FTC challenges the proposed Illumina acquisition

  The United States Federal Trade Commission sued to block Illumina's proposed acquisition of PacBio on competition grounds.

  M&ARegulation
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• 2018Illumina agrees to acquire Pacific Biosciences

  Illumina announced an agreement to purchase PacBio in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion.

  M&A
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• 2010PacBio goes public on Nasdaq

  Pacific Biosciences completed its initial public offering and began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PACB.

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1. Pacific Biosciences
2. Pacific Biosciences official website