Takara Bio strengthens its IP position on single cell RNA-seq

Mountain View, CA—July 18, 2018—Takara Bio USA, Inc., (TBUSA, formerly Clontech Laboratories, Inc.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., is proud to announce that patent JP6336080B—covering the Smart-seq2 method, developed by Rickard Sandberg and exclusively licensed to TBUSA by the Ludwig Institute—has been awarded by the Japan Patent Office. Additional patents regarding the Smart-seq2 technology are pending in the U.S. and other regions.

Because our scientists are dedicated to developing solutions for next-generation sequencing of challenging and low-input sample types, in 2015 TBUSA entered into an agreement with Ludwig Cancer Research to exclusively license the Smart-seq2 method. This advancement further bolstered our portfolio of NGS products, already powered by our proprietary SMART (Switching Mechanism at 5' end of RNA Template) technology which enables sensitive and robust sequencing of single-cell or ultra-low-input RNA samples.

"We remain focused on pushing the envelope of single-cell RNA-seq technology, and we are strongly committed to providing novel technologies for this rapidly evolving field," said Carol Lou, President of Takara Bio USA, Inc. "Our license on the gold-standard Smart-seq2 method enables us to further improve upon our original methods and allows researchers to push the limits of their own work."

For more information about TBUSA products for next-generation sequencing, please visit: takarabio.com/products/next-generation-sequencing.