Making personalized genomics a reality
Opto-Electronic Single Molecule Sequencing, our revolutionary semiconductor-based technology, enables high-throughput long-read gene sequencing at very high speeds yet very low cost, making the promise of personalized genomics a reality for all.
Enhancing the Art of Sequencing
Gene sequencing allows for in-depth analysis of life’s codes in a holistic, systematic and scientific manner, and provides methods for clinical diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases. In addition to healthcare, there are many potential applications for gene sequencing such as pandemic control, agriculture, food safety, public security, and environmental monitoring, etc.
The existing uses of gene sequencing, however, are limited to only a very small group of sophisticated life sciences researchers. To unlock the great potential of gene sequencing and enable the personalized healthcare, it is our imperative to further reduce its costs and enhance its efficiency, functionality and accessibility.
Company
About Personal Genomics
Personal Genomics (“Company” or “PGI”) is a pre-commercial stage R&D company focused on making personalized health a reality by developing a decentralized, affordable and efficient Third Generation gene sequencing platform.
The company's primary laboratories are located in Hsinchu, in the heart of Taiwan's Silicon Valley, to effectively leverage semiconductor infrastructure and knowledge in Taiwan. The sequencing technology and product development are carried out by an experienced and interdisciplinary team, and are supported by research groups in USA, Europe and Asia.
Technology
Opto-Electronic
Single Molecule Sequencing
Our revolutionary opto-electronic single molecule sequencing technology (OES™) uses a high-density array of nano-wells and thin film waveguide on a chip to carry out large-scale DNA sequencing. The system coupled with our unique sensing module and sequencing chemistry can provide continuous high-accuracy long-read gene sequencing at low cost.
Our Unique Advantages
● A decentralized platform
● Single-molecule long-read sequencing
● Short turnaround time
● Simple, compact, and cost effective
210+ Patents
Personal Genomics owns a patent portfolio with more than 210 patents and patent applications worldwide including the United States, EU, Australia, Asian and other countries. The patent portfolio covers the OES™ concept, chip & system, opto-electronic detection, novel chemistry, workflow and algorithm, etc. The extensive strategic patent portfolio ensures sufficient protection.
Recent Publications
Nature Communications Biology Vol. 2, Article number: 224 (2019)
Thermococcus sp. 9°N DNA polymerase exhibits 3′-esterase activity that can be harnessed for DNA sequencing
LinWu SW, Tu YH, Tsai TY, et al.
ACS Nano 2019,13,4,4486-4495
Triple-Junction Optoelectronic Sensor with Nanophotonic Layer Integration for Single-Molecule Level Decoding
Hsieh HY, Peng YH, Lin SF, et al.
Scientific Reports 2020, 10 (1), 1-12
Enzymatic Cleavage of 3'-Esterified Nucleotides Enables a Long, Continuous DNA Synthesis
LinWu SW, Tsai TY, Tu YH, Chi HW, Tsao YP, Chen YC, Wang HM, Chang WH, Chiou CF, Lee J, Chen CY.
Board and Management Team
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Johnsee Lee, PhD, MBA
Founder, President & CEO, Chairman of the Board
Dr. Lee is the leader and pioneer of biotechnology industry, with over 30 years of experiences in the healthcare/biotechnology space. He is the Founder & CEO of Personal Genomics, Inc. and Chairman of Quark Biosciences, Inc. He is also the Chairman of Taiwan Biotech Industry Organization. Prior to his current position, he served as President of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Chairman of the Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB), and as the Board Director of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC). Dr. Lee has played a key leadership role in the development of Taiwan’s world-class high-tech industries.
Before joining ITRI, Dr. Lee held various technical and managerial positions at Argonne National Laboratory and at Johnson Matthey Inc. in the U.S.A. Dr. Lee is also the funding chairman of the Association of Precision Medicine & Molecular Diagnostic Industry in Taiwan. He was elected as the President of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies. Dr. Lee was the President of Taiwan Telecare Industry Association, and the President of Monte Jade Science & Technology Association.
Dr. Lee received his PhD from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is also a graduate of Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School. Dr. Lee is the founder and the first director of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory at ITRI. He has successfully facilitated the founding of more than 10 biotech and IT start-up companies.
Dr. Lee has published numerous journal papers and patents. He received many honors and awards including the National Engineering Medal, CIE Distinguished Achievement Award, the Innovation Leadership Award by Global Views, and the Excellence in Research & Innovation Award by Frost & Sullivan.
Chung-Fan Chiou, PhD
Founder, CTO, Director of the Board
Dr. Chiou is the primary inventor of PGI‘s OES™ (previously s-TOP) sequencing technology. He was the team leader of $1000 genome sequencing project at ITRI. Dr. Chiou was the founder and CEO of Phalanx Biotech Group and was one of the pioneers in microarray gene chip technology. Previously, he was also the founder & CEO of Quark Biosciences, Inc. Dr. Chiou received his Ph.D. from Purdue University. He joined ITRI in 1992, and later became the Head of Strategic Planning for Biomedical Engineering Center at ITRI. He has successfully led a high-density DNA microarray project into commercialization. Dr. Chiou specializes in bio-engineering and system integration. He has extensive experiences in developing genomics technologies for life science tool markets and has effectively completed the product development and mass production of microarray within two years. Dr. Chiou received outstanding research awards from ITRI.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD
Director of the Board
CEO, NantWorks Group
Dr. Soon-Shiong is a physician, surgeon, and scientist who has pioneered novel therapies for both diabetes and cancer, published more than 100 scientific papers, and has more than 95 issued patents on groundbreaking advancements spanning a myriad of scientific and medical fields. Dr. Soon-Shiong serves as Chairman of the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation and Chairman and CEO of the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine, a non-profit medical research organization.
He currently co-chairs the CEO Council for Health and Innovation at the Bipartisan Policy Center and is a member of the Global Advisory Board of Bank of America. Dr. Soon-Shiong is an Adjunct Professor of Surgery at UCLA, a visiting Professor at the Imperial College of London, the Executive Director of the UCLA Wireless Health Institute, a board member of the California Telehealth Network, and global director for Cancer Services and Bioinformatics at Providence Health. The Friends of the National Library of Medicine has honored him with their Distinguished Medical Science Award. He was also the founder and CEO of American Pharmaceutical Partners and Abraxis BioScience. He was in the cover story of 2014 Forbes Magazine as the richest physician in the world.
Shahrooz Rabizadeh, PhD
Director of the Board
Chief Scientific Officer, NantOmics
Dr. Rabizadeh is the Chief Scientific Officer at NantOmics, LLC and at NantBioScience, Inc. Shahrooz received his PhD degree in neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles and trained as a postdoctoral fellow in Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Genetics at Harvard Medical School. Previously, Shahrooz was the Director of Molecular Drug Discovery at Abraxis BioScience, Inc. and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to Abraxis, he co-directed the Discovery Translation Unit at the Buck Institute, where he also served as an Assistant Research Professor.
Bowei Lee, PhD
Director of the Board
Chairman, LCY Group
Mr. Bowei Lee is currently the chairman of LCY Group. Under his leadership, the group has grown more than 18 times over the past 23 years and established global operations through organic growth, joint ventures and acquisitions. Today, LCY Chemical is not only one of the top three thermoplastic elastomer producers in the world, but also one of the leading chemical companies across petrochemical industry.
With strong commitment towards sustainability development and talent cultivation in chemical industry, Mr. Bowei Lee has been active in petrochemical industry promotion and has also served in several academic organizations. After receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical engineering from MIT and MBA degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Mr. Bowei Lee was invited to participate in Chemical Engineering Visiting Committee from MIT and has also become one of the members of the Business School Advisory Board, providing numbers of scholarships in order to bring more Taiwanese young talents to the world-class university.
Mr. Bowei Lee took on several important roles throughout his career, including managing director of Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan (PIAT), a director of Chinese Chemical Societies, a member of Chemical Engineering Advisory Committee of National Taiwan University, a board member of Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation. Notably, he was also nominated as the 5th president of Taiwan Chemical Industry Association (TCIA) in 2016, while also becoming the founding director of Standing Committee of Alxa Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology (SEE) Association, one of the few NGOs founded by entrepreneurs in China.
Ding-Hua Hu, PhD
Founder, Ex-Director of the Board
Dr. Hu is one of the most accomplished leaders of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University of Missouri, and Master’s degree in management science from Stanford University. Dr. Hu has over 30 years of experiences in the creation and management of high-tech companies, including served of world-class companies, such as UMC, TSMC, TOSIA, Accton, etc. He also served as Managing Director for H&Q Asia, and for Champion Consulting Corporation. He was the Chairman for Macronix Corp. and for Phalanx Biotech. He has served as a Professor at Chiao-tung University, Associate Director of Industry Technology and Research Institute (ITRI), Chairman of Macronix, and Alpha V.C. Fund, Inc.
Christian Zapf, JD, MBA
Chief Business Officer, North America
Until 2017, Mr. Zapf was Vice President, Corporate Development at NantWorks, LLC, the parent organization for an ecosystem of healthcare and technology companies led by entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. In this role, his chief responsibility was for M&A and corporate development activities. Prior to NantWorks, from April 2006 to May 2011, he served as Vice President, Corporate Development at Abraxis BioScience, where he was responsible for corporate development, licensing and other strategic relationships.
Mr. Zapf was instrumental in the sale of Abraxis BioScience to Celgene in October 2010. Prior to NantWorks, from April 2006 to May 2011, he served as Vice President, Corporate Development at Abraxis BioScience, where he was responsible for corporate development, licensing and other strategic relationships. Mr. Zapf was instrumental in the sale of Abraxis BioScience to Celgene in October 2010. Prior to Abraxis BioScience, from December 2004 to April 2006, Mr. Zapf served as Counsel, Corporate Development at American Pharmaceutical Pharmaceuticals (APP), a company selling generic hospital injectables. In this role, he was involved in all aspects of business development activities, including facility and plant acquisitions and supply chain relationships. Before APP, Mr. Zapf was an attorney at the Wall Street law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he maintained a general corporate practice. Mr. Zapf holds a JD from Columbia University, an MBA from INSEAD and a BA from Cambridge University in the UK.
Shuling Cheng, PhD
Chief Strategy Officer
Shuling Cheng, PhD joined Personal Genomics with over 20 years of product development and management experience in the biotech, medical device, and clinical diagnostics field. Shuling has led product development, strategy development, strategic planning and business development activities in these fields for small, mid and large cap public companies. Previously, Shuling consummated asset acquisition deals with Terumo for Meden Biodesign ranging from M&A, co-development, post-deal integration and partnership management.
Additionally, she was Founder and CSO in NeoDaignostics and OncoHealth responsible from fund raising, product development and commercialization. In addition, she has held technical and management roles at Eurofin and Thermo Fisher. Shuling received her PhD from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Fred Teng, MBA
Vice President, Finance & Administration
Fred currently serves as the vice president of finance and administration at Personal Genomics and is responsible for accounting, finance, legal, IT, facility and general administrative supports. With more than 20 years of experiences in biotechnology and semiconductor industries, he has been the directors of finance and accounting of several listed companies, including a semiconductor company that is a joint venture with Japanese. He also participated in the early stage development and fund raising of several startups
In addition, he has numerous licenses and certifications including Certified Securities Investment Analyst (CSIA), Senior Securities Specialist, Securities Specialist, Stock Affair Specialist, Futures Specialist, Bond Specialist, Financial Planning Professional, etc.
Fred holds Chartered Financial Analyst Certification from National Taiwan University, and MBA in Finance from Fu Jen University.
Scientific Advisory Board
Lap-Chee Tsui, OC, Ph.D.
Member of Scientific Advisory Board
Professor Lap-Chee Tsui is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong. Prior to his present appointment, Professor Tsui was Geneticist-in-Chief and Head of the Genetics and Genomic Biology Program of the Research Institute at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He was also the H.E. Sellers Chair in Cystic Fibrosis and University Professor at the University of Toronto. Professor Tsui received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1979. After a brief research in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he joined the Department of Genetics at The Hospital for Sick Children.
He received international acclaim. in 1989 when he identified the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis, which is a major breakthrough in human genetics. He has also made significant contributions to the study of the human genome, especially the characterization of chromosome 7, and identification of additional disease genes. He has 290 peer-reviewed scientific publications and 65 invited book chapters and papers. Professor Tsui has served on the editorial boards for 20 international peer-reviewed scientific journals, scientific review panels, and international committees, including the President of Human Genome Organization from 2000 to 2002.
Yuh-Geng Tsay, Ph.D.
Member of Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Tsay joined Vivo Capital in 2016 as a Venture Partner. He has extensive experience and track record in building successful businesses that were eventually acquired or went public. Prior to his retirement in 2010 from Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO), Dr. Tsay served as Senior Vice President and Group President of the company’s Specialty Diagnostic business, with worldwide annual revenue of US $2 billion. He was the Group President of Immunodiagnostics of Fisher Scientific (NYSE: FSH) prior to Fisher’s merger with Thermo Electron in 2006.
From 2000 to 2004 he served as Group President of Clinical Diagnostics of Apogent (NYSE: AOT), which was acquired by Fisher in 2004. While working for these public companies, he was instrumental in engineering the acquisition of multiple diagnostics companies including Phadia, One Lambda, BRAHMS, Microgenics, Seradyne, Duke Scientifics and Applied Biotech Inc. He was the founder of Diagnostics Reagents Inc., which was acquired by Apogent in 1998. He also cofounded several other diagnostic companies, which were either acquired by a public company or went public. Dr. Tsay serves on the boards of several biotech companies including PEG Bioscience, PharmaLegacy, AltheaDx, ReadCoor and Bonraybio and Personal Genomics. Dr. Tsay received his B.S. in Chemistry from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. He has a Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Rochester, New York. He received a Distinguished Scholar Award from the University of Rochester (2014) and the Distinguished Alumni Awards from Cheng Kung University (2012).
Timothy K. Lu, M.D., Ph.D.
Member of Scientific Advisory Board
Prof. Tim Lu joined MIT as Assistant Professor at the Department. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2010 and obtained a joint appointment at the Department of Biological Engineering in 2012. Dr. Lu received his undergraduate and M.Eng. degrees from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Thereafter, he obtained an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and Ph.D. from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Medical Engineering and Medical Physics Program.
Tim has won the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, Grand Prize in the National Inventor Hall of Fame’s Collegiate Inventors Competition, and the Leon Reznick Memorial Prize for “outstanding performance in research” from Harvard Medical School. He has also been selected as a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences and a Siebel Scholar. Outside of the lab, Tim enjoys playing volleyball and tennis.
Yun Yen, M.D., Ph.D.
Member of Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Yen is the Associate Director of the City of Hope Medical Center in the U.S.A. He is responsible for the institute's translational research, and co-leads the Developmental Cancer Therapeutics Program at the City of Hope. Dr. Yen received his PhD in Pathology and Cell Biology from Thomas Jefferson University. Following residency at St. Luke's Hospital, Dr. Yen completed a fellowship in the Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Yale University School of Medicine. Subsequently, he joined City of Hope as a staff physician.
He is a professor in Medical Oncology and the Graduate School of Biological Sciences, as well as the Chief of Biochemical Pharmacology at the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research. Among awards Dr. Yen received several awards from the National Institutes of Health, including a prestigious fellowship while at Thomas Jefferson University. In addition, he has been awarded U.S. Army Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer grants. The National Cancer Institute's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program has designated his laboratory the ribonucleotide reductase Real-Time PCR Laboratory. He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed journal articles, and served as a reviewer/referee for several journals and on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Colorectal Cancer.
Nicky C. Lu, Ph.D.
Member of Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Lu is the Founder and CEO of Etron Technology, and has co-founded several other high-tech companies. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Lu worked for IBM and won the IBM Corporate Award. He holds over 24 U.S. patents and has published many technical papers. Dr. Lu was elected to be a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He received the IEEE Solid State Circuits Field Award and Member of National Academy of Engineering of USA.
Since 1999, Dr. Lu has pioneered several Known-Good-Die Memory products enabling customers’ stacked-die system chips. This trend summoned the new rise of an IC Heterogeneous Integration era. Dr. Lu was awarded outstanding alumnus of National Taiwan University and the National Medal of Excellence in Science and Technology. He also serves as Chairman of the Global Semiconductor Alliance.
Hardy Chan, PhD
Member of Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Chan, Chairman and President, Allianz Pharmascience, Taiwan, and Helios Bioelectronics Taiwan since 2017 and the President since 2015. As a veteran of the US pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Chan was the Vice President of Research and the Director of Biotechnology at Syntex Corporation, a company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA. He has since 1997 founded and listed a number of companies in Taiwan. Dr. Chan co-founded ScinoPharm Taiwan and served as its CSO for 13 years; following this, he joined Tanvex Pharmaceuticals and served as its CEO for 3 years.
With decades of experience at the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Chan enjoys translating pioneering scientific discoveries into compelling investment opportunities. Dr. Chan received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Partner with Us
Personal Genomics is committed to exceeding your needs. We are actively looking for partners in the areas below.
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Sample Preparation
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Sequencing Chemistry
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Application Development
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Commercialization
Contact us today if you are interested in embarking on a fulfilling and exciting partnership with us.
