DeciBio October 6, 2015: Although in its infancy, single cell genomics (SCG) has already begun to shed light on the darkest areas of our biological knowledge. SCG has been an enabling approach, giving researchers in diverse fields an opportunity to gain insight into cellular heterogeneity. A number of interesting arenas are already being pursued. From tumor heterogeneity and unculturable microbes, to circulating tumor cells and preimplantation genetic screening, exciting results continue to unfold. Using a SCG approach, a recent study identified a subpopulation of dormant stem cells within the brain that become activated and may aid in regeneration after injury.There is a clear understanding that the SCG approach has an opportunity to revolutionize our biological understanding. In 2015 alone, three single cell genomics centers (SCGC) were opened, in Sweden, the U.S. and last month in Australia. The common goal of all of these centers is to accelerate the development of methods, applications and discoveries, as well as making SCG tools available to the scientific community at large. Well established centers have already been successful in accelerating SCG as a field, through collaboration. These centers also reflect a demand that is being realized by commercial vendors who are now providing SCG services.Researchers in both the commercial and academic world continue to push the boundaries and shape the trajectory of this emerging market as they find ways to address the technical challenges of cell isolation, sample preparation and downstream analysis. Fluidigm, the leader in the market and a provider of single cell automated prep solutions, continues to innovate as it is pushed by novel advancements from the academic research community from which it first sprung. Recent examples of novel approaches come from two groups at Harvard who developed Drop-Seq and inDrop, fast methods to isolate thousands of cells and prepare them for sequencing, at a fraction of the cost of Fluidigm’s systems.Fluidigm has seen a recent slowdown in growth, 4% in Q2 2015. Missing Wall Streets’ estimate caused their stock NASDAQ:FLDM to tumble 35%, and it has yet to recover. Fluidigm’s president, Gajus Worthington, attributed the slow down to the “decreased sales of consumables to production genomics customers and a decline in single-cell instrument sales.” Fluidigm’s slowdown might indicate a general slowdown in the SCG market given their large market share. However, a number of new entrants and commercial players are still making moves, noting SCG as a growth opportunity.In April, WaferGen Biosystems announced a research collaboration with Genentech, initiating an early access program from their single cell genomics technology. Their single cell system, ICELL8, is being launched at the American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG), this week. In July, Cellular Research announced their Whole Transcriptome Single Cell Precise™ Assay, which they claim gives researchers the ability to quantify the transcriptome from a single cell without any specialized equipment. In the same month, Qiagen announced an exclusive deal for commercialization of Cell Microsystems' single-cell isolation and analysis technology, CellRaft Array. Competitors are also partnering to provide integrated solutions across the entire workflow. Earlier this year BD announced a co-marketing partnership with Cellular Research which recently culminated in BD acquiring Cellular to offer customers an integrated workflow, taking advantage of their well-known single cell sorting platform, BD FACS™ and Cellular Researches’ Precise™ assay. We expect large players in the life science research tools and NGS markets to enter the SCG market through acquisition.These and other movements suggest Fluidigm’s slowdown is not indicative of a market slowdown, and in DeciBio’s estimation, the market will continue to grow, influenced by a number of factors.Key Drivers:

• Novel methods with increased throughput capacity for cell isolation
• New platforms for preparation of cells for downstream sequencing
• Market shift towards single cell sequencing (SCS)
• Entry of large LSRT players into the market (e.g., BD via Cellular Research acquisition)
• Continued establishment of SCG centers along with dedicated single cell research funding (e.g., $90M from the NIH through 2017)

For an in-depth analysis on the SCG market see DeciBio’s updated Single Cell Genomics report, with detailed information on market size, segmentation, growth, competition and trends.Disclaimer: Some of the companies listed above may be DeciBio clients or customers.

Author: Miguel Edwards, Associate at DeciBio Consulting, LLCedwards@decibio.comConnect with Miguel on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/miguelvedwards