Samsung Electronics-backed U.S. firm Element Biosciences to hold global roadshow in Seoul

[Financial News] Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder in U.S. genetic analysis equipment company Element Biosciences, which will kick off a global roadshow in Seoul showcasing next-generation genomic analysis equipment and multiomics technology.
Element will hold its “Shift Your Science” roadshow at the RYSE Hotel in Seoul on the 20th. The event will feature a demonstration of VITARI, a high-throughput benchtop sequencing instrument, and the announcement of the first shipment of Cytos, a multiomics analysis solution.
Sequencing is a technology for reading the sequence of DNA bases. Multiomics analyzes a range of biological data, including RNA and proteins as well as DNA, to examine how genetic information functions within living organisms. The event will introduce technologies ranging from reading genetic information to comprehensively analyzing cellular responses.
Element co-founders Molly He, CEO, and Michael Prevedel, CTO will attend in person and deliver keynote speeches. Researchers from the Genome Research Institute at Samsung Medical Center, KAIST, Yonsei University College of Medicine, the University of Tokyo in Japan, the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology in Australia, and Tata Memorial Hospital in India, among others, will also speak. They will present clinical trial results and applications in areas such as cancer, gene regulation, immunology, and agricultural genomics.
VITARI is a high-throughput sequencer with 99.99% accuracy in DNA analysis. According to the company, despite its benchtop size, it can analyze at least five times as much in a single run as previous products, and it has lowered the cost of genomic analysis to $100 per person.
It can be used for whole-genome and exome sequencing for rare disease research, targeted sequencing for clinical oncology research, and single-cell RNA sequencing, among other applications. The company is currently accepting preorders and plans to begin shipping the instrument at the end of this year.
Cytos is a solution that uses a single instrument to simultaneously analyze multiple types of biological data from an individual cell, including its morphology, protein expression, and entire transcriptome. By measuring a range of data from the same cell, it can compare changes in the cell’s state over time in response to drug treatment. Element expects the solution to support research into complex drug responses and contribute to drug development.
“Advances in biological research begin with obtaining high-quality experimental data. Cytos observes changes in cells and comprehensively analyzes the results, enabling more accurate and sophisticated experiments. It will help researchers find answers to a wide range of biological questions that have been difficult to address with existing analytical technologies,” CEO Molly He said.
Element is a genetic analysis equipment company founded in San Diego, U.S., in 2017. It entered the global market in 2022 with the launch of its mid-sized sequencing instrument, AVITI.
Samsung Electronics participated in Element’s Series D funding round in July 2024 and then invested an additional $175 million in its Series E round last June, becoming the company’s largest shareholder. Samsung plans to combine its capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI), medical devices, and digital health with Element’s genomic analysis and multiomics technologies to identify business opportunities in precision medicine.
The roadshow will continue in major cities around the world, starting in Seoul and moving on to San Diego, Munich, Boston, Stockholm, and other cities.
[email protected] Park Ji-yeon Reporter