King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) in Saudi Arabia and the Shenzhen-headquartered MGI Tech Co. Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday to establish a high-throughput sequencing center housing MGI’s leading technology platforms, including DNBSEQ sequencing, laboratory automation and bioinformatics products.
MGI and KAIMRC will also join forces in other areas such as business development, marketing, public communications and education to enhance genomics research and development, as well as create awareness in the coming genomics era, according to the memorandum.
MGI and KAIMRC will lead an international collaborative research program powered by MGI’s innovative technologies in areas such as genomics and bioinformatics for health and diseases while driving local talent development in these fields.
The strategic collaboration will utilize MGI’s platform to improve genome sequencing and data quality across a wide range of applications, including human genome sequencing, transcriptome sequencing, infectious diseases and microbial organisms research, such as COVID-19 monitoring and epidemiology.
Prof. Ahmed Alaskar, executive director of KAIMRC, said that precision medicine is the future of health care, and this partnership paves the way for new and innovative approaches in this field.
Dr. Roy Tan, general manager of MGI Asia Pacific, said that MGI will integrate its expertise with KAIMRC to positively impact health and wellness that will be beneficial not only to Saudi Arabia, but also the rest of the world.
MGI, established in 2016, is a leading innovator in life sciences with 1,700 employees worldwide.