BERLIN–During a visit today to the Max Delbrück Center of Molecular Medicine in Berlin-Buch (MDC), German Chancellor Angela Merkel started up the newly installed PacBio RS, the single molecule, real-time (SMRT™) DNA sequencing system from Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB). PacBio Scientific Fellow Dr. Jonas Korlach, co-inventor of the technology and a native Berliner, was also present at the ceremony.

Professor Nikolaus Rajewsky of the MDC commented: “The outstanding characteristics of SMRT technology are that not only can one watch how DNA is being synthesized, but also that the data it generates will enable us to quantitatively analyze gene regulation, RNA function, epigenetic gene regulation, DNA modification and genome structure. This technology allows us deeper insight into gene regulatory networks and opens new approaches to personalized medicine.”

The new PacBio RS sequencing system at MDC marks the third installation of the system in Europe. Terry Pizzie, Vice President of Europe for Pacific Biosciences, said: “We have received tremendous interest from the European market since we began commercial sales in April. It is wonderful to see the product receive this level of recognition from both our customers at MDC and the Chancellor, who is also a physicist herself by training.”

For Dr. Korlach, the event was also symbolic. “I was here when the Berlin Wall came down, which opened the possibilities for me to study abroad and led to co-inventing this technology with Steve Turner at Cornell University,” he said. “It’s an honor to be back where I started and sharing the product of our years of hard work where it will now help contribute to the advancement of scientific discovery and medical innovation in Germany.”

About Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences’ mission is to transform the way humankind acquires, processes and interprets data from living systems through the design, development and commercialization of innovative tools for biological research. The company has developed a novel approach to studying the synthesis and regulation of DNA, RNA and proteins. Combining recent advances in nanofabrication, biochemistry, molecular biology, surface chemistry and optics, Pacific Biosciences has created a powerful technology platform called single molecule, real-time, or SMRT™, technology. SMRT technology enables real-time analysis of biomolecules with single molecule resolution, which has the potential to transform the understanding of biological systems by providing a window into these systems that has not previously been open for scientific study.