# BGI and the Digital Silk Road

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">BGI.com.global:</span>](https://www.bgi.com/global/sequencing-services/dna-sequencing/whole-genome-sequencing-3/) **Our Simple Mission:**

*<span style="font-weight: 400;">To provide researchers and healthcare professionals with quality genomic data and genetic testing solutions, at rapid turnaround times with industry leading pricing.</span>*

*<span style="font-weight: 400;">BGI Genomics is the world’s leading provider of genomic sequencing services and proteomic services, now serving customers in more than 100 countries. We provide (the following) .. with integrated genomic sequencing and proteomic services and solutions(:)</span>*

- <span style="font-weight: 400;">academic institutions</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">  
      
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- <span style="font-weight: 400;">pharmaceutical companies</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">  
      
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- <span style="font-weight: 400;">health care providers</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">  
      
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- <span style="font-weight: 400;">and other organizations</span>

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Atlantic Council:</span>](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/china-is-happy-about-the-abraham-accords-and-the-gcc-crisis-coming-to-an-end/) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) (is) a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company referred to as the </span>****“Huawei of genomics”****<span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span>*

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Gen News:</span>](https://www.genengnews.com/news/mgi-delivers-the-100-genome-at-agbt-conference/)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> (Feb 26, 2020) </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">The coveted last slot of this year’s AGBT conference\*, the premier genomics conference held in Florida every winter, promised to be a blockbuster with the title:</span>*

***First $100 genome sequencing enabled by new extreme throughput DNBSEQ platform.***

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Technology Review:</span>](https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/26/905658/china-bgi-100-dollar-genome/)<span style="font-weight: 400;"> (pay site): </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">(T)he Chinese gene giant BGI Group (announced) it will make genome sequencing cheaper than ever breaking the $100 barrier for the first time ever.</span>*

<span style="font-weight: 400;">(Woo-hoo! More genomic gold for the People’s Republic of Totalitarianism/Western Scientists.)</span>

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Radoje Drmanac</span>](https://www.genengnews.com/news/mgi-delivers-the-100-genome-at-agbt-conference/)<span style="font-weight: 400;">, CSO of MGI (owned by BGI): </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s not unthinkable that a $10 genome may be (possible). At future AGBTs, we’ll hopefully present </span>****even crazier****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> innovations and breakthroughs.</span>*

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">CBS:</span>](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dna-genealogy-privacy-60-minutes-2021-01-31/) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">The financial stakes for dominating the global biotech sector — the industry that's bringing us the COVID vaccine — are staggering, estimated to be worth up to $4 trillion a year. For perspective, that's more than the valuation of Amazon and Apple combined.</span>*

##### **BGI - Radoje Drmanac**

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Gen News:</span>](https://www.genengnews.com/news/mgi-delivers-the-100-genome-at-agbt-conference/) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">Radoje (Rade) Drmanac, CSO of MGI, was a co-founder of Complete Genomics, which ..launched in 2008 with its novel DNA NanoBalls (DNB) platform. .. (A)fter going public (it) was acquired by BGI for about $117 million in 2013. MGI (is) the company’s next-gen subsidiary.</span>*

**Gen News:** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">What made (you) think of using an antibody?</span>*

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Radoje Drmanac:</span>](https://www.genengnews.com/news/mgi-delivers-the-100-genome-at-agbt-conference/) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">It just hit me, like, why in the world are we trying to do this indirectly when </span>****antibodies****<span style="font-weight: 400;"> can recognize the base?</span>*

**Gen News:***<span style="font-weight: 400;"> Drmanac says that it is very cheap, highly specific and there is no cross talk. Not doing this earlier, he explains, was “a simple mental block in our inventions.”</span>*

[<span style="font-weight: 400;">Technology Review:</span>](https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/26/905658/china-bgi-100-dollar-genome/) *<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Shenzhen company says the low cost will be possible with </span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;">(Drmanac’s)</span>*<span style="font-weight: 400;"> “extreme” DNA sequencing system .. capable of decoding the genomes of 100 000 people per year.</span>*

**Radoje Drmanac:** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">(This) is not going from bad to good - it‘s going from excellent to extremely excellent.</span>*

**Gen News:** *<span style="font-weight: 400;">CoolMPS (MPS stands for massively parallel sequencing) is the first nucleobase-specific antibody-based sequencing chemistry.</span>*