China wants to become a home of experts in the human DNA, and technological advancements in the field are bringing this dream in the right direction.
BGI, China's pride and one of the biggest companies in the genomics industry, has unveiled its "Miracle Light" incubation platform that allows the genetics industry in the country to progress more rapidly.
Many other firms in the industry are also expected to benefit from the advancement, as the Chinese government sees great potential in gene sequencing, particularly in the development of treatments for some of the world's deadliest diseases such as cancer.
BGI is also set to inaugurate the country's very own gene bank, which has been entrusted to them by the central government of China.
Miracle Light
On Sunday, BGI President Wang Jian explained to China Daily the benefits of the Miracle Light, which is situated in Nanshan District, Guangdong Province.
"Innovation and entrepreneurship that meet a fundamental need of human development will definitely lead us to a new path," Wang told the outlet.
The Miracle Light is an incubation platform located in Nanshan's industrial park and is aimed at providing an open platform for technological development, scientific research and industry resources.
Via the platform, all these can be integrated together to aid the progress of the industry, China Daily explained.
"What we strive to do is to train the talent and to increase the number from 100,000 to 1 million," Miracle Light CEO Liu Liang explained, adding that they aim to solve problems in human resources, marketing and capital. "We encourage those with entrepreneurial spirits to enter the industry to pave the way for its growth."
China National Genebank
This coming September, the BGI is also set to inaugurate the country's 5-hectare genomics facility that would house millions of gene samples from humans, plants, animals, and even microbes, called the China National Genebank, Nature.com reported.
Similar facilities can also be found overseas, but the CNG and BGI have one advantage over them: the support of the government.
"We can get there faster because of our partnership with the government, hospitals, universities, because we can move faster than large consortia, and particularly because we have our own sequencer. That is a huge advantage," BGI global head of research Yiwu He stated.
China is currently ahead of other countries in terms of gene sequencing with a capacity range of 20 to 30 percent, according to Executive Officer Richard Daly of the Mountain View-based DNAnexus.
"Sequencing capacity is rising rapidly everywhere, but it's rising more rapidly in China than anywhere else," Daly added.