JP Morgan 2023: 10x Genomics announces three new developments across three platforms

The 41st J.
P.
Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference kicked off Monday in San Francisco
, USA.
After two years of online meetings, this conference was finally able to be held
offline.
Serge Saxonov, CEO of 10x Genomics, presented the company's overall progress
on the Chromium, Visium, and Xenium platforms.

Saxonov believes that 10x is at the forefront
of a biological turning point.
Although the recent focus has been on genomics, he believes the next phase of research will expand to enable downstream biological advances, multiomics analysis, and more advanced cell, tissue, and organ research
.

10x Genomics now has three pillar platforms: the Chromium single-cell sequencing platform, the Visium spatial genomics platform, and the Xenium in situ analysis platform
.
Saxonov predicts that the 10x platform will replace traditional toolboxes in the life sciences, including batch cell sequencing, PCR, ELISA, Western Blot, and more
.

Single-cell sequencing

The Chromium single-cell sequencing platform, launched in 2016, was the first platform launched by 10x
.
"It helps you see what's going on in a sample at single-cell resolution," Saxonov says
.
With more than 4,000 instruments sold, the platform now surrounds an extensive ecosystem of users, datasets, protocols, and papers
.
He said the company's investments are geared toward increasing sample size, reducing the total cost of experiments, and removing logistical hurdles
.

Spatial upgrades

The Visium spatial genomics platform helps researchers "see how molecules in a sample are arranged," Saxonov said
.
"You can do unbiased analysis
of whole tissues, whole transcriptomes.
So it really connects histology and molecular biology
.
He reports that thousands of labs are currently using the Visium platform and have more than 400 citations
.

In June 2022, 10x Genomics launched Visium CytAssist
.
The instrument solves a major pain point for Visium users, he says, by being able to use traditional histological slides
.
"It combines standard slides with special Visium slides to transfer molecules from tissue sections onto Visium slides," he explains, "which greatly simplifies the workflow
.
" "Importantly, this advance allows spatial analysis
of tissue samples that have been archived for many years.

"Our customers are extremely enthusiastic about it, and we also think it's the best way to run Visium," Saxonov emphasizes
.
He said the company is investing more in the Visium platform, with a focus on expanding tissue types, measuring more analytes, and adding more analytical processes
.
However, he did not mention Visium HD, the previously introduced single-cell resolution spatial transcriptomics product
.

Xenium in situ analysis

The Xenium in situ analytics platform was officially launched
in December 2022.
It enables subcellular localization analysis of hundreds of RNA targets to generate high-quality data with high sensitivity and specificity to gain new insights
into cell structure and function.

The platform uses customized panels and is also compatible with
standard pathology.
Saxonov believes there is a huge space for it, and 10x has developed an extensive roadmap for the future capabilities of the Xenium platform, with plans to increase throughput and flexibility, and provide advanced analysis and visualization, as well as deep integration
with digital pathology and morphology.

Balance a three-legged stool

These three platforms of 10x Genomics are designed to address the complexities
of biology.
Saxonov said he expects the company's initial core customer base, genomics researchers, to be likely to "tend to have all the platforms because it's easy for them to think of use cases and naturally use all three
.
" ”

As the client base expands, Saxonov expects some "fragmentation" in spatial clients, who may be keen to perform histological analysis but not go the cellular dissociation route
.
"We do think there is a lot of potential in the space to bring in new customers
.
"

According to Saxonov, though, sales and marketing are becoming another challenge
with the launch of Xenium.
10x Company is very careful
in balancing sales and marketing resources across the three platforms.
"These three platforms tend to complement each other, and finding customers around the value proposition of one platform often helps to include other platforms," he says
.
"Our goal is to properly balance the three platforms and leverage the size of the sales force to promote synergies between the platforms to drive sales
across all platforms.
"