PacBio and Intus Bio Collaborate for Launch of GutID, First At-Home Microbiome Test Powered by HiFi Sequencing

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PacBio (NASDAQ:PACB), developer of the world's most advanced sequencing technologies, and Intus Bio, a leader in microbiome research and discovery, today unveiled GutID, the first commercial human gut health test powered by Intus Bio's groundbreaking Titan-1 platform and PacBio's HiFi sequencing technology. By combining Intus Bio's patented strain-level resolution assay and AI-powered analysis with PacBio's renowned sequencing accuracy, GutID sets a new benchmark in gut microbiome testing, and is the only comprehensive and accurate gut microbiome test available today.

Offering the highest resolution analysis possible, GutID is a major breakthrough as it delivers robust and repeatable results, which can be used with confidence to help understand and manage the microbiome, a known critical driver of health outcomes including cancer.

"We are proud to partner with PacBio for their first human health-related commercial application," said Paul Denslow, CEO of Intus Bio. "High accuracy, long-read sequencing is essential to Intus Bio's ability to unlock the microbiome, making GutID not just a test, but a transformative tool for understanding and improving human health. It's already having an incredible impact."

Recommended by healthcare professionals, GutID provides previously unobtainable gut health information. The test lets the user easily collect and ship a sample from home to a state-of-the-art lab, where PacBio's long-read sequencing and Intus Bio's Titan-1 platform combine to power comprehensive, actionable reports.

Each report includes a detailed visualization of bacteria down to the strain level, showing the abundance of both commensals and pathogens. Users also receive a proprietary microbiome health score and personalized recommendations to optimize gut and overall wellness.

GutID is already transforming the lives of individuals with IBS, IBD, and those focused on longevity by offering insights which were previously unavailable.

"We are thrilled to see Intus Bio leveraging PacBio's advanced sequencing solutions to uncover microbial communities far beyond traditional methods," said David Miller, Vice President of Marketing at PacBio. GutID showcases the transformative power of our long-read sequencing platforms, opening new frontiers in healthcare by providing deeper insights into the human microbiome and improving human health."

The microbiome - the vast collection of bacteria in every human - is well established as a critical driver of health outcomes. It has been associated with cancer, autoimmune, neurodegenerative, and other chronic diseases as well as behavioral disorders. A complete, accurate and detailed view of the bacterial microbiome is central to actionability, allowing interventions and lifestyle changes to be made and tracked with confidence.

Despite the microbiome's well understood potential to impact healthcare, previous generations of microbiome tests have been low resolution, resulting in variable results and limited utility for improving and managing health. By combining Intus Bio's strain-level microbiome platform and the power of PacBio's sequencing technology, GutID offers both consumers and clinicians repeatable and robust results for actionable insights.

GutID is now available for purchase at www.gutid.com. For more information about the technology behind GutID and how it can support health and wellness, visit www.intusbio.com and www.pacb.com.

About PacBio:

PacBio (NASDAQ:PACB) is a premier life science technology company that designs, develops, and manufactures advanced sequencing solutions to help scientists and clinical researchers resolve genetically complex problems. Our products and technologies stem from two highly differentiated core technologies focused on accuracy, quality and completeness which include our HiFi long-read sequencing and our SBB^® short-read sequencing technologies. Our products address solutions across a broad set of research applications including human germline sequencing, plant and animal sciences, infectious disease and microbiology, oncology, and other emerging applications. For more information, please visit www.pacb.com and follow @PacBio.

PacBio products are provided for Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

About Intus Bio:

Intus Bio is transforming the role of the microbiome in healthcare through the development of cutting-edge technology to allow the complexity of the microbiome to be truly seen and understood for the first time. This approach is supporting next generation tests for patients and clinicians to improve health outcomes, and microbiome discoveries with the promise of a new class of tools for the detection, treatment, and prevention of chronic diseases. Powered by the proprietary Titan-1 platform, Intus Bio is making the microbiome as important to healthcare as it is to health.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the uses, coverage, advantages, and benefits or expected benefits of using, PacBio products or technologies, including the use of HiFi sequencing technology in connection with Intus Bio's GutID; use of GutID to help understand and manage the microbiome and to open new frontiers in healthcare; and other future events. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they are subject to assumptions, risks, and uncertainties and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from currently anticipated results, including, challenges inherent in commercializing a new product, the difficulty of generating discoveries in the microbiome; potential performance and quality issues; and third-party claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or seeking to invalidate PacBio's patents or proprietary rights. Additional factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in PacBio's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including PacBio's most recent reports on Forms 8-K, 10-K, and 10-Q, and include those listed under the caption "Risk Factors." These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof; except as required by law, PacBio disclaims any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.

Contacts:

PacBio

For investors: Todd Friedman, [email protected]

For media: [email protected]

Intus Bio

For investors: [email protected]

For media: [email protected]