In a strategic move to accelerate the global reach of its innovative sequencing technologies, MGI has entered an exclusive licensing agreement with Swiss Rockets, marking a major milestone in the company’s international growth strategy. The collaboration enables MGI to leverage Swiss Rockets’ strong R&D capabilities and established presence in Europe and the U.S. to commercialise CoolMPS™, a groundbreaking antibody-based sequencing chemistry. This next-generation approach eliminates DNA scarring, enabling longer, more accurate reads with significant implications for clinical applications such as early cancer detection, precision medicine, and drug development.

In conversation with MedTech Spectrum, Dr. Radoje Drmanac, Chief Scientific Officer of MGI and Co-founder of Complete Genomics, discusses the strategic rationale behind the deal, the scientific advantages of CoolMPS™, and how the collaboration will advance applications in clinical diagnostics, cancer detection, and precision medicine.

This partnership with Swiss Rockets marks a major step in expanding MGI’s global footprint. What strategic goals does this exclusive licensing agreement aim to achieve, and how does it align with MGI’s broader international growth strategy?

By adopting a licensing out model and leveraging our partner's strong local resources and R&D capabilities, we can fully unlock the value of the CoolMPS™ sequencing technology. Now at MGI, our future global strategy will focus on the full promotion and commercialization of our core technology platform—StandardMPS™ and related products.

From a strategic perspective, this enables MGI to leverage Swiss Rockets' local advantages to bypass the substantial investments—entering Europe and the U.S. independently would require massive investment to build direct sales teams, navigate complex patent litigation, and undertake lengthy market education and regulatory approvals —this approach achieves globalization at a lower cost and with greater efficiency with pay-out to MGI through royalties.

CoolMPS™ has been described as a breakthrough technology due to its antibody-based recognition chemistry. Could you elaborate on how this approach improves upon conventional sequencing methods and what specific scientific or clinical advantages it delivers?

CoolMPS™ technology, distinguished by its innovative antibody-based recognition chemistry, represents a breakthrough in sequencing by eliminating DNA “scarring” from labeled nucleotides, a common issue found in Standard MPS/NGS methods preventing longer reads. It employs nucleotides with natural bases and extension blocks, combined with labeled antibodies that are both base-specific and block-dependent. The CoolMPS™ method detects each nucleotide with labeled multiple fluorescent dye antibodies.                                                                                                                                           

Deployed on MGI’s DNBSEQä platforms, CoolMPS™ delivers sequencing reads reaching up to 600 to 700 bases, covering comprehensive genome, transcriptome, and microbiome analyses. Its high fidelity enables crucial applications including early cancer detection and monitoring through whole genome sequencing-based assays, providing scientists, researchers and the wider life science sector with longer and more accurate reads at reduced costs.

How does the partnership with Swiss Rockets enhance MGI’s ability to bring CoolMPS-based products to markets outside the Asia-Pacific region, and what will be the key areas of focus during the initial phase of collaboration?

Swiss Rockets is a Swiss-based company with an incubator model and owns subsidiaries focused on drug and vaccine development. Its key drug candidate has received R&D funding from a leading U.S. regulatory authority, which independently validates the potential and credibility of its technology. The company has established R&D collaborations with other listed companies, underscoring its recognition within the sector.

The licensing deal enables a faster access to Swiss Rockets' existing investment and commercial channels, sales networks, and customer relationships in EU and US regions especially with focus on drug development and disease prevention and treatment. .

With CoolMPS enabling longer read lengths and higher fidelity sequencing, what potential do you see for its application in clinical diagnostics, such as early cancer detection and precision medicine?

For example, CoolMPS™’s ability to generate long, highly accurate reads makes it particularly suitable for identifying structural variations, fusion genes, and low-frequency mutations—critical targets for better treatment selection. Higly accurate deep sequencing is critical for early cancer detection and minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring. 

MGI already has a strong portfolio with its StandardMPS™ and DNBSEQ™ technologies. How will CoolMPS complement these platforms and help position MGI as a global leader in genomic sequencing innovation?

First of all, StandardMPS™ and CoolMPS™ are both methods deployed on  DNBSEQä platforms.

We believe CoolMPS™ is a very good technology. However, MGI has already commercialized StandardMPS™, which has obtained regulatory approvals like NMPA (China FDA), CE-IVD, and hundreds of others in APAC countries and the Middle East. The cost of switching technologies is now prohibitively high due to these established regulatory and operational footprints. Through this agreement, we have successfully activated this underutilized technology asset. The essence of this licensing deal is to entrust CoolMPS™ to a specialized partner for comercialization.

Having Swiss Rockets operate CoolMPS™ allows it to tap into incremental opportunities in specific segments, creating a complementary synergy with MGI's primary product line.

Looking ahead, what are MGI’s priorities for driving adoption of CoolMPS in international markets, and how do you plan to address regulatory, manufacturing, and competitive challenges in the global genomics landscape?

MGI priority is to enable Swiss Rockets to start commercialization of CoolMPS™ products as soon as possible by supplying needed materials and transferring all needed know-how.

Regarding regulations, the agreement is governed by Swiss law—a legal system renowned for its neutrality and judicial independence. This provides a solid legal foundation for the stable execution of the transaction. Also it explicitly stipulates that both parties shall comply with all applicable export control and economic sanctions laws. As the licensee, Swiss Rockets bears the same compliance obligations.