Life Technologies, a US-based biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries, introduced a new benchtop Ion Proton Sequencer in India designed to sequence the entire human genome in a day for $1,000. Optical-based sequencing technologies take weeks or months to sequence a human genome and cost $5,000 to $10,000.

The Ion Proton Sequencer, priced at $149,000, is based on next generation semiconductor sequencing technology that made its predecessor, the Ion Personal Genome Machine, the fastest-selling sequencer in the world. It is ideal for sequencing both exomes - regions in the DNA that code for protein - and human genomes. The Ion Proton I Chip will be available from mid-2012, while the Ion Proton II Chip will be available about six months later. The product will be currently available for research purpose till the company gets the regulatory approval for animal or human therapeutic or diagnostic use, which is expected by the end of this year.

BioSpectrum spoke to Mr Gregory T Lucier, chairman and CEO, Life Technologies, USA, while he was in Bangalore, India, to launch the Ion Proton Sequencer about the market trends in India and the APAC region.

What kind of growth do you see for this product in the region?

Mr Lucier: The Ion Proton Sequencer is now our fastest growing product. We see a lot of potential for this new product and are expecting a high double-digit growth rate for this product in the Asia Pacific region. Over the next three years, the market for genetic sequencing will be measured in tens of millions of dollars.