GeneBang: Revolutionizing Genomic Sequencing with an E-commerce Platform for Scientific Research

10Pre-Chinese New Year, At that time, Yang Bin, who was working at the Chengdu Agricultural Bureau, probably never imagined that he would embark on the path of entrepreneurship.

In 2007, Yang Bin joined BGI Genomics by chance. In 2014, BGI Genomics established a “responsibility, authority, and benefit” team in the Southwest region, with Yang Bin serving as the deputy head. From that point on, his career reached a turning point.

The “Responsibility, Authority, and Benefit Team,” as the name suggests, operates with independent accounting and assumes sole responsibility for its profits and losses, functioning akin to a self-sufficient entity. In addition to Yang Bin, the team included his future partner Bai Lijun as well as core members of GeneBang.

Yang Bin, Founder of GeneBang

From 2007 to 2015, Yang Bin spent a total of eight years at BGI Genomics. Progressing from laboratory technician to laboratory supervisor, then to sales manager, and finally to a core team member, he gained comprehensive familiarity with the entire spectrum of processes spanning laboratory operations, sales, and management.

Having spent many years in the industry, Yang Bin is well aware that as costs decline, data processing will become the bottleneck for future industry development. At the time, there were some companies engaged in data analysis and processing, but their analytical services followed standardized workflows. For research institutions conducting forward-looking studies, such standardized analysis processes were entirely inadequate to meet their needs.

In 2013, Yang Bin and Bai Lijun began to explore whether they could leverage their industry experience and expertise to contribute to the scientific research community, and whether a platform could be established to facilitate communication between outstanding engineers and scientists in need of such collaboration.

Yang Bin came across ScienceExchange in the United States, an online trading platform for scientific research services. This inspired them to consider a similar approach: establishing an online trading platform that aggregates high-quality resources and distributes them to scientists and hospital physicians with research needs.

“Some engineers specialize in RNA analysis and may not be as proficient when it comes to DNA projects. We wanted to bring together analytical engineers from across the industry, which led to the creation of this platform,” recalled Yang Bin.

The platform hosts both engineers and researchers. Researchers can submit their requirements, and GeneHelp matches them with suitable engineers. If an engineer is available, they can contact the researcher who posted the requirement. Once both parties agree on the fees and delivery timeline, a transaction is established, converting the requirement into a project.

In this process, GeneBang, as a third-party platform, controls and supervises project prepayments and progress, similar to e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com.

“Every research project is unique and requires personalized analysis, which is difficult to obtain through traditional companies,” Yang Bin told VCBeat. “We aim to transform these projects into standardized products and leverage our platform to help clients find suitable engineers.”

In 2013, the cost of sequencing a human whole genome dropped below $10,000, a disruptive decline from the $95.26 million per sequence recorded 16 years earlier. At that time, Yang Bin, Bai Lijun, and others had already conceived the idea of starting a business, but they felt the timing was not yet ripe.

In 2014, sequencing costs dropped to $1,000, and domestic genetic testing companies sprang up across China. In 2015, with RMB 2 million in angel investment, Yang Bin and Bai Lijun led the then “Zequanli Team” out of BGI Genomics to establish GeneBang—an online trading internet platform.

Given that the previous team had already established a solid reputation in Southwest China, the launch of the platform attracted significant attention from many engineers. Among these interested parties were independent engineers as well as numerous small businesses.

The platform spread rapidly among engineers, but it was not easy to get the message across to the laboratories.

The team not only reviews and tests engineers applying for registration but also actively conducts on-site promotions at laboratories and hospitals. They have assigned a field promotion specialist in each city to provide technical consulting, in-depth presentations, and project promotion services to laboratories.

Furthermore, the company has recruited a large number of part-time staff on campuses to help promote laboratory platforms and engineer content.

One month later, the company’s platform received a prepayment of RMB 1 million, marking its first facilitated transaction.

On the GeneBang platform, internal engineers review every engineer who submits an application. Educational background, project experience, and published literature constitute the first stage of screening; additionally, they track the projects undertaken by these engineers to further verify their professional competence.

With engineers verified and matched, researchers can find more suitable analysts. More importantly, with the intervention and guarantee of GeneBang, the transaction process between both parties is also more secure.

If a project experiences delays or unsatisfactory deliverables, GeneBang will intervene to mediate between the parties and encourage the engineer to improve project outcomes. If an engineer is genuinely unable to meet delivery requirements due to limited personal capability, GeneBang will assign experienced personnel to provide guidance and assist the user in matching the project with a more qualified engineer.

“The advance payment is held in escrow by us; engineers will certainly not receive payment if their work is substandard,” Yang Bin told VCBeat.

With the involvement of a third party, the client no longer needs to worry about the counterparty absconding with funds; if the work is unsatisfactory, they can engage alternative providers until satisfactory results are achieved.

Moreover, it is difficult for individual engineers and small businesses to establish industry recognition. On this platform, however, strong performance can readily generate positive word-of-mouth, thereby facilitating brand building.

Perhaps this model effectively addresses the pain points of researchers, individual engineers, and small businesses. As a result, GeneBang quickly established its own brand. Within less than a year of its launch, GeneBang’s gross merchandise value (GMV) surpassed RMB 10 million.

As the number of engineers registered on the platform continued to grow, Yang Bin began to realize that a mere transaction platform was far from sufficient. Bioinformatics cloud services are typically employed during project analysis, yet engineers on the platform could only access such capabilities by relying on third-party products. For individual engineers or small startups, enterprise-grade cloud platforms were impractical.

The entire team at GeneBang originates from BGI Genomics, including several senior engineers specializing in different fields, as well as Dr. Ling Zhihao, who returned from the Max Planck Institute in Germany. The team possesses strong development capabilities.

In June 2016, the GeneBang Cloud Platform project was launched.In December 2016, the cloud platform was officially launched.

At this point, GeneBang has completed the bioinformatics segment, spanning from basic cloud infrastructure to analytical personnel. In addition, the reagents and consumables platform is currently in preparation.

GeneBang established an online trading platform largely to address the challenges faced by scientists. Bioinformatics represents the most critical segment and serves as GeneBang’s primary entry point. However, the difficulties in scientific research extend far beyond this domain, and GeneBang’s ambitions encompass much more.

Yang Bin told reporters that scientific research involves four major pain points: First, project design—many scientists are unsure how to properly design studies, resulting in ideas that are out of touch with practical realities. Second, task allocation—even after a project is well-designed, the core technologies may not be under their control, necessitating collaboration with other experts. Third, product translation—in China, much research fails to translate into commercial products, often ending merely as patents. Fourth, funding—the majority of financial resources are concentrated in the hands of “leading figures,” who can pursue many research interests of their choice; by contrast, researchers with limited funding find it difficult to implement their ideas, no matter how promising.

GeneBang’s platform has, to some extent, resolved the challenges of task allocation in their projects; however, much remains to be done to address the remaining key difficulties.

Yang Bin’s team also handles certain data analysis tasks internally, often contemplating the potential for productizing their capabilities. They considered what information end-users would require if they shifted from providing customized analyses for laboratories to adopting a B2C model. Based on this strategic thinking, GeneBang incubated its own direct-to-consumer (DTC) subsidiary, Jianji.

Yang Bin told VCBeat that they not only aim to facilitate their own product commercialization but also hope to extend such services to users on the platform.

“We aim to share the technologies held by scattered scientists, while also enabling them to secure funding, thereby facilitating the flow of research funds among scientists,” said Yang Bin.

For instance, small startups can take on projects through the platform to generate additional revenue, which can then be reinvested into their own product development. Once they have developed their products, these teams can spin off as independent companies. For researchers with limited funding, the platform offers an opportunity to provide technical expertise and services to other projects, thereby generating income to supplement their budgets. Moreover, high-quality projects can also be commercialized or transferred out through the platform.

In addition, Yang Bin also hopes to establish a platform that provides the public with a channel to learn about scientific research.

“Although public literacy and technological proficiency have improved, many people remain misled by pseudoscience. Fundamentally, this stems from a widespread lack of understanding, with unverified projects being excessively promoted,” Yang Bin told VCBeat.

“If the public had a channel to learn what scientists are working on, it would be easier for them to develop a rational understanding. ‘In the future, we aim to gradually build such a platform for the general public, enabling people to learn about scientists and research projects, thereby steadily improving scientific literacy,’ said Yang Bin.”

This platform primarily targets enthusiasts with an interest in scientific research, who to some extent also represent market demand and may provide scientists with creative inspiration. Even under favorable conditions, scientists can secure project support through crowdfunding.

“For example, with certain rare diseases, there are no therapeutic drugs available on the market, and the general public is often unaware of which researchers are conducting studies in this area. Through this platform, they can connect with these scientists to establish interactive engagement. Where conditions permit, financial support may also be provided to the researchers,” said Yang Bin. However, this process must be implemented step by step.

“First and foremost, we must continue to provide high-quality services tailored to researchers,” Yang Bin added.

In October 2017, the number of registered engineers on the GeneBang platform exceeded 1,500, with more than 600 having obtained certification. Although these figures may appear modest, GeneBang has already become the platform with the largest engineer community in China.

“The barrier to entry for entrepreneurship is not high, but establishing oneself as a brand and gaining a foothold in the industry is no easy task. Aggregating small and medium-sized enterprises can create a relatively strong force,” said Yang Bin.

In 2017, the angel-round investors increased their investment to RMB 10 million, marking another vote of confidence from capital markets in the company following recognition of GeneHelp by engineers and the industry.

Next, GeneBang will launch an online trading platform for reagents and consumables, building upon its engineer platform and bioinformatics cloud. This initiative aims to progressively strengthen upstream and downstream segments, integrating with other companies’ sequencing services and the instrument market to comprehensively address all aspects of research needs.

Building on this foundation, incubation programs for researchers and small enterprises, as well as a subsequent consumer-facing platform, will be gradually launched.