Guoke Bio Submits IPO Prospectus Following Exclusive Customization of One Million Illumina ASA Chips for Asian Populations
In December 2017, Beijing Guoke Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Guoke Biotech”) entered into a collaboration with Illumina, the global giant in genetic testing, to finalize a custom agreement for million-scale ASA chips. In September 2018, the ASA-CHIA custom gene chip, spearheaded by Guoke Biotech, was officially launched on the market.
Genetic testing is an emerging industry in the 21st century. According to assessments by relevant institutions, the number of consumers using direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing services in the United States reached 12 million in 2017, with a population penetration rate of 3.5%. During the same period, the volume of consumer-grade genetic testing in China was only around 400,000, with a population penetration rate of less than 0.03%. The future potential market size is enormous, representing a trillion-yuan industry.
Guoke Bio is a factory-level gene chip testing service provider primarily targeting DTC consumer genomics companies, specifically addressing their pain points. According to Ma Yukun, the company’s founder, Guoke Bio aims to enable potential industry entrants with the capability to interpret personal genomes to enter this sector with minimal barriers, thereby fully promoting the development of diverse applications for genetic data in the future digitalization of life.
Guokr Bio Team (Image provided by the company)
Guided by this original intent, the founding team of Guoke Biology broke through significant barriers and, in collaboration with numerous domestic and international partners, launched the DOUBLE MILLION PLAN—comprising the Double Million Personal Genomic Data Project for the Chinese Population and the Open-Source Project for 100,000 Individuals—to advance digitalization.
Founder Mr. Ma Yukun has many years of sales experience in the genetic testing industry and possesses keen insights into the biotechnology sector. When asked about his decision to launch a startup mid-career, he told VCBeat that, based on his observations of the consumer-grade genetic testing industry, current DTC companies all suffer from the following pain points:
To address these pain points, Ma Yukun proposed several solutions. First, by moving upstream to semi-customized chips and adopting ASA-CHIA chips, the company can meet the diverse needs of DTC enterprises, particularly in the ancestry testing module, where ASA chips offer higher testing accuracy. Meanwhile, B2B genetic testing factories provide cost-effective, rapid, and high-quality genetic testing services to research institutions and DTC companies in sectors such as medical aesthetics, covering single-site, multi-site, and whole-genome sequencing.
Guoke Biology was officially established in July 2017 with this mission. Currently, Guoke Biology also provides OEM packaging services for customized products based on customer requirements.
Recently, Guoke Biology has launched a new project, the “Gene Story” cloud platform. Functioning as a DNA store, this platform enables enterprises to provide customized services and facilitate user data interaction. The “Gene Story” cloud platform allows end-users of B2B enterprises to directly access their genetic reports on the platform. Meanwhile, it empowers these enterprises to deliver precise health management based on users’ personal and family information, fostering interaction between businesses and their customers and establishing a novel model for health management.
The Asian Screening Array (ASA) is the first genotyping array specifically designed for individuals of Asian ancestry, developed by the U.S.-based chip manufacturer Illumina. Officially launched globally in March 2018, this array provides more precise genetic testing services for Asian populations.
Compared with similar SNP chips, this chip contains 750,000 marker loci, with an effective locus rate of 85%, meaning it has 640,000 effective loci. This makes it the chip with the highest number of effective loci currently available on the market. A higher number of effective loci means that more genetic information can be detected through gene testing, making the data obtained from such tests more valuable.
Meanwhile, the ASA chip offers the most comprehensive coverage of low-frequency mutations in Asia. Low-frequency mutation sites refer to genetic loci with a mutation frequency between 0.01 and 0.05 (minor allele frequency [MAF] of 1–5%), which are closely associated with the onset of many diseases.
Building upon the standard ASA chip, Guoke Bio added 50,000 additional markers to create the customized ASA-CHIA genotyping array. In addition to the original ASA marker sites, ASA-CHIA incorporates Y-SNPs and mtSNPs for ancestry tracing, as well as autosomal loci; susceptibility loci for complex diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, psychiatric conditions, and cancers; screening loci for genetic diseases, hereditary tumors, neonatal birth defects, and rare diseases; and exploratory loci related to personality traits and individual characteristics. Guoke Bio is currently applying for intellectual property rights for this customized chip.
Pei Zhihua, the company’s CTO, stated that the bulk procurement of customized ASA-CHIA gene chips at low prices has reduced the cost of gene chips by more than half compared to traditional chips. This move addresses the high chip acquisition costs faced by some direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies in the market and provides consumer-grade genetic testing firms with greater options.
While providing customers with high-efficiency, low-cost gene chips, Guoke Bio also offers its own complimentary retesting assurance service: if the sample detection rate falls below 97%, Guoke Bio will perform free retesting for the customer. Additionally, one duplicate test is included free of charge for every 96 samples tested; if the concordance rate between the two tests is below 98%, Guoke Bio will conduct another free retest. Such assurances are rare in the field of genetic testing, reflecting Guoke Bio’s commitment to ensuring that every customer receives precise and error-free testing services.
In May this year, Guoke Bio Laboratory received certification as a global Illumina genotyping array testing service provider. In June, it was certified by Agena Bioscience as a global MassARRAY nucleic acid mass spectrometry testing service provider. To date, Guoke Bio has completed testing on over 100,000 samples. Pei Zhihua, the company’s CTO, stated that they expect to complete 200,000 array tests this year and accumulate a sample volume of one million within the next two to three years. The company also plans to collaborate with more manufacturers to introduce cost-effective omics testing technologies to serve DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) enterprises.
Currently, Guoke Biology has completed a tens-of-millions-yuan angel round of financing invested by Beijing Zhengtang Jiaye. The company plans to launch its Series A financing in January 2019, primarily to expand production capacity and file applications for IVD kits.
Guokr Bio's Mascot: Guoguo
Guoke Biology envisions a near future in which every individual possesses their own genomic data, serving as the foundational bedrock of their personal data chain and thereby enabling a diverse array of application scenarios. In the future, technology and cost will no longer constrain the development of genomics within the broader health sector, including precision medicine. Meanwhile, security concerns surrounding personal data—headed by personal genomic data—are being resolved thanks to the rapid advancement of blockchain technology. It is time to consider the development of “Genomic Data+.”