News Release

BGI Tech and BAB jointly develop transgenic mice platform for biomedical research

Business Announcement

BGI Shenzhen

August 7, 2012, Shenzhen, China – BGI Tech Solutions Co., LTD, also referred to as "BGI Tech" and BGI Ark Biotechnology Co., LTD. (BAB), a biotechnology company dedicated to large scale production of transgenic and cloned animals, today announced that they have jointly developed an advanced transgenic mice platform for boosting human diseases and medical research, with the advantages of improved efficiency, high positive rate, available sex determination, fast turnaround time, and low cost.

In contrast to traditional transgenic techniques, the platform could provide more comprehensive technical services to efficiently generate transgenic mice for researchers worldwide. It covers a wide range of techniques and services, including DNA microinjection, blastocyst injection and tetraploid complementation assay, gene knockin, gene knockout and conditional gene knockout, targeting vector construction, embryo cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer, among others.

Transgenic mice serve as important models for embryonic development and disease pathogenesis research, and their use has dramatically increased for the past two decades. The mice and cell lines derived from them have also accelerated basic research by allowing scientists to relate functions to genes, dissect genetic pathways, and manipulate the cellular or biochemical properties of proteins.

"Based on the handmade cloning and sperm-mediated technologies, we could provide more efficient and economic access to transgenic mice and related research." said, Dr. Yutao Du, Director of BAB, and Vice President of BGI, "We have established a SPF-level facility covering 160 square meters, which could house more than 2,000 mice. The platform also has equipped with the full set of professional experimental equipment and a number of technical experts." she added.

With the high-throughput sequencing platform and profound experience in genomics, BGI Tech in addition provides solutions for gene detection, transgenic mice construction and gene function evaluation. Na Liu, Director of Product Management at BGI Tech, said, "There are significant research and commercial needs for a large scale transgenic mouse platform. We not only can provide the excellent transgenic tech support, but also work with researchers to design professional and personalized solutions. The combination of transgenic technology and high throughput sequencing technology will become an inevitable trend for genetic engineering and make great improvement in biomedical research and applications."

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About BGI Ark Biotechnology Co., LTD.

BGI Ark Biotechnology Co., LTD. (BAB), affiliated to BGI, is a high-tech enterprise, mainly focusing on mass production of transgenic and cloned animals. Based on a core technology named Handmade Cloning (HMC), BAB has established a reliable and efficient standard production system, including vector construction, screening of genetically modified cell lines, reconstruction of cloned embryos, embryo transfer, etc. Compared with traditional cloning, the benefits of handmade cloning are great. Low equipment costs, a simple and rapid procedure and a higher in vitro efficiency are valuable for large scale research in medical and agricultural sciences.

For more information, please visit http://www.bab-genomics.com/

About BGI Tech Solutions Co., LTD

BGI Tech aims to provide advanced multi-omics and bioinformatics service solutions for its global customers to achieve their research goals in biomedical, agricultural, and environmental areas. BGI Tech was established as a subsidiary company of BGI, one of the largest genomics organizations in the world with multiple great scientific achievements and over 250 publications in top-tier journals such as Nature and Science. Equipped with the industry's broadestcoupled with an experienced team of scientists and bioinformaticians,, BGI Tech delivers rapid, cost-effective, and high-quality results that enable researchers to achieve scientific breakthroughs.

For more information, please visit www.bgitechsolutions.com

Contact Information:

Mingbang Wang
Director of DNA Product
BGI Tech
wangmingbang@bgitechsolutions.com
www.bgitechsolutions.com

Bicheng Yang
Public Communication Officer
BGI
+86-755-82639701
yangbicheng@genomics.cn
www.genomics.cn


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