Led by Beijing Polyseq Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and jointly undertaken by 10 units including the China Agricultural University, the Semiconductor Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Central South University, the launch meeting and implementation scheme demonstration meeting of the special project "high-precision and high-throughput nanopore sequencing system research and development" of the national key research and development program "Biology and information integration (BT and IT integration)" was successfully held in Beijing on April 26. Wang Rui, the project director of the Information Science Department of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Wu Ruijun, the project director of the Medical Device Department of the China Biotechnology Development Center, attended the meeting. The project expert group is composed of Zhao Wenming, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing Institute of Genomics, Huang Jie, a researcher from the China Institute for Food and Drug Control, Liu Jiang, a researcher from the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Liu Haiguang, the chief researcher from Microsoft Research Institute, Wang Xiaoqun, a professor from Beijing Normal University, Xiang Ye, a researcher from Tsinghua University, and Xiao Fei, a researcher from Beijing Hospital. The attending leaders and members of the project expert group jointly discussed the opportunities and challenges faced by nanopore gene sequencing technology, innovation and breakthroughs, and placed high hopes on the "high-precision, high-throughput nanopore sequencing system research and development" project. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Wang Daqian, General Manager and Project Leader of Beijing Polyseq Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
Wu Ruijun, the project manager of the Medical Device Department at the China Biotechnology Development Center, stated that the key projects of biological and information fusion (BT and IT fusion), especially the importance of nanopore sequencing systems, are self-evident. Especially in March of this year, Illumina, Inc. was listed as an unreliable entity by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, which will be an important opportunity for domestic substitution and a significant turning point in our entire industry transformation. Beijing Polyseq Biotechnology Co., Ltd., as a true "national team" in the field of nanopore gene sequencing in China, hopes to promote the specific organization and implementation of the project with stricter requirements and more solid measures, ensuring the smooth completion of the project on time, with quality and quantity.
Dr. Wang Daqian, the project leader, and the project leaders reported to the attending leaders and experts on the research foundation, content, technical roadmap, expected goals, and other aspects of the project and each topic. The members of the project expert group led by Researcher Zhao Wenming fully affirmed the rationality and feasibility of the project and its implementation plans, and provided constructive guidance and suggestions.
The meeting was summarized by Wang Rui, the project director of the Information Science Department of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He pointed out that the preliminary research foundation of the project is solid, and the expected research results are also rich. The leading unit, Polyseq Biotechnology, has already established a foundation for industrialization. He hopes that under the overall planning of Polyseq Biotechnology, the collaborative cooperation between various research projects and participating units can be strengthened. In addition to completing the established indicators of the project, he believes that the project team can also accelerate the updating and iteration of key technologies and produce outstanding results.
Finally, Dr. Huang Yihua, Chairman of Beijing Polyseq Biotechnology Co., Ltd., promised that Polyseq Biotechnology will live up to expectations and closely cooperate with all participating units to successfully complete the various indicators specified in the task book, launch internationally leading nanopore gene sequencing products, and demonstrate "China speed" and "China quality" to the world.
