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The Geonomics Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Dr Alex Dickinson
Facts matter in healthcare. Now more than ever.On Apple and SpotifyFollow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgdickinson/
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- Mar 16, 202638 min
AGBT recap with Andy Han (ex-Genomweb)
Andrew Han (ex-GenomWeb) and I recorded our first podcast last week, breaking down AGBT 2026. Andy was on the ground on the ground in Orlando, and I was camping out by the pool at the Biltmore Miami, providing remote moral support 🤣 My biggest takeaway: the sequencing market is splitting into two camps. One side wants beautiful, integrated, clinical-grade systems. The other side is saying: just give me lots of cheap reads and get out of my way - I'll build the value layer myself.Roche's pricing made this concrete. $150 for a duplex genome, sure. But $0.06/million simplex reads?! That's the number that got people talking. Some highlights from the conversation:- Illumina's TruPath (formerly known as Constellation) TruePath had impressive data but it's still early access (and it's their 4th attempt at this)- Ultima Genomics quietly won a lot of people over. New instrument, no more monster ePCR cabinet. But what's the CPM Gilad?!- The Complete Genomics/Swiss Rockets AG deal raised as many questions than it answered- A core lab director said she "can't afford to wait a year" for a new mid-throughput instrument from Illumina- Someone floated a wild rumor about an Illumina nanopore sequencer- The best SWAG and (not-so) secret parties
- Aug 6, 202551 min
Gardiner Harris: "No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson"
Many of us grew up with the scent of Johnson's Baby Powder as one of our earliest memories. Trusted by moms since 1894, the product has built an extraordinary trusted brand (rooted in deep scent associations with motherly love) for one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, Johnson and Johnson. But in 2018 Reuters published an investigation showing J&J had known for decades that its talc-based powder contained asbestos. Imagine a corporate culture so corrupted that it not only kept shipping a carcinogenic mother/baby product and even refused to adopt a safe alternative ingredient (corn starch).All this - and much, much more - is covered in the powerful new The New York Times best seller "No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson". by my friend Gardiner Harris. Gardner is a former healthcare and political reporter for the NYT and WSJ, so it's no surprise I that Gardiner uncovered that the baby powder catastrophe wasn't an isolated incident - J&J has time and time again shipped products that have killed customers ranging from drugs for cancer patients that gave them more cancer, to opioids far more damaging than those shipped by the (far less PR savvy) Sackler family.
- Jun 26, 202535 min
Roche Diagnostics' CEO Matt Sause and Josh Lauer
It was amazing to have the opportunity to talk NGS with Matt Sause, the CEO of Roche Diagnostics, the world's largest clinical diagnostics provider with $17B in sales. Matt's businesses range across the full spectrum of DX products and services from diabetes CGM to Foundation Medicine oncology testing. It was also great to find Josh Lauer on the call! Josh heads up the $4B (ie about the same size as Illumina) Molecular Diagnostics division, home to Roche's new SBX NGS technology. Josh came to Roche from Ultima Genomics, so he's very plugged in to the NGS ecosystem.
- Jun 11, 202546 min
Pierre Arsene, CEO of liquid biopsy company Mursla Bio
Pierre Arsene, CEO of liquid biopsy company Mursla Bio
- May 17, 202545 min
Molly and Mike from Element - The Day After
I talked with Molly He and Michael Previte, founders at Element Biosciences, the day after Illumina announced it was suing Element for patent infringement. Definitely was top of mind for them, but not of course something they could opine on directly. Nevertheless provided very interesting context for the conversation, and proof in my opinion of their disruptive impact on the life science industry. They certainly didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated 🤔A great weekend listen!Some key points:- Their goal was not just to challenge incumbents (e.g., Illumina) but to fundamentally expand what sequencing and associated instruments can do. Mike characterized Aviti as akin to Monty Python's "Trojan Rabbit": a known entry point with NGS, then expanding usage into broader biological insights.- Element's global revenue mix (over half from outside the US) and substantial industry client base insulate them from NIH budget cuts and US market shocks.- Operations: Developed a resilient supply chain (mostly US-based suppliers; multiple vendors for critical parts) to shield company from tariff and supply chain risks.- Emphasize that biology is highly context-dependent—just sequencing the genome is like reading a dictionary without understanding the story. Element focuses on enabling multi-omic analysis (DNA, RNA, spatial, etc.) from the same sample, aiming for richer, more actionable insights.- Insist that successful future models (e.g., AI/ML for drug discovery) require diverse, unique, and integrated data—not just more of the same data.- Express concern about declining NIH and public research funding, warning of long-term risks to innovation and US leadership. Affirm that cuts cause near-term paralysis (“deer in the headlights” effect for researchers) and pose incalculable long-term harm.- Suggest that new computational and AI capabilities are finally enabling the shift from sequence-obsessed biology to holistic understanding. Reiterated need for “digital twins” of cells—capturing all relevant modalities, not just DNA sequence.- Despite litigation, funding uncertainty, and market upheaval, Element leadership remains optimistic and driven by curiosity. They champion “smart science”: maximizing impact per resource, maintaining transparency and trust with users, and powering discovery through accessible, integrated tools.
- Apr 20, 202546 min
Abrus Founders Chris and Michael on NG Proteomics Sequencing
DNA sequencing swept the world in two waves: first of all Sanger sequencing, developed in the '70s and the underpinning of the 2000's Human Genome Project, and then NGS which drove the cost of a human genome sequence from billions to thousand of dollars from 2006 onwards.Echoing that history, protein sequencing is now in its first innings, dominated by technologies that provide proteomic fingerprints but not the de novo sequencing that makes NGS the powerful tool it is.So it was a real privilege to sit this week with my two brilliant friends Michael Graige and Chris MacDonald and talk about the basics of proteomics, and how their stealthy company Abrus Bio is competing in the race to Next Generation Proteomics, NGP.There are so many things I like about this company!- Michael and Chris learned their craft way back at Illumina so they're all about building not bullshitting.- They use off-the-shelf NGS as their readout mechanism, making their product simply (🤣) an amino-acid-to-DNA reactor with a razor/razorblade business model- They treat DNA as bits, and so can tag both the amino acid sequences and post translational modifications with barcodes and read those post NGS in the bioinformatics.Anyway, this is a great conversation whether you're interested in learning the basics of proteomics (why it's hard, why it's 'uuuge) or the details of Abrus' approach. Take a listen!
- Apr 3, 202515 min
Newsbreak: Gilad Almogy and the Ultima-te NGS Giveaway!
Geonomics Podcast Newsbreak! A 15 minute interview with Ultima Genomics CEO Gilad Almogy on why the hell he's giving away 3 Trillion free sequencing reads 🤯🤯🤯The program is called "Count on Us" (get it? 🤣) and I we talk about:- Motivation was initiated in response to the current uncertainties in NIH funding. Recognizing the stress and potential budget freezes faced by researchers, Ultima aims to support the scientific community.- Strategically the initiative serves to increase exposure to Ultima’s sequencing technology. By offering free sequencing reads, the company hopes researchers will experience the platform’s benefits, potentially leading to sustained purchasing.- While most of the sequencing will occur at Ultima’s Bay Area facility, some projects will be handled by partner service providers. We talked about the impact the NIH cuts may have on the eternal NGS dilemma of labs insourcing vs outsourcing their sequencing. We finished up with Gilad challenging other NGS vendors to give way their sequencing for free too. FREE NGS, FREE NGS, FREE NGS 😀😀😀
- Mar 18, 202524 min
Susan Tousi Part 2: Delfi's cancer dx technology and her career as a woman in life science
Excited to announce a new episode of the Geonomics Podcast: part 2 of my interview with the fabulous Susan Tousi, CEO of DELFI Diagnostics.In this episode we discuss her unique career path starting out as a Penn State engineering grad then leading Eastman Kodak Company's printer business to leading Illumina's R&D and then commercial units and now CEO of Delfi. Susan deep-dives on her current role at Defi, a company focused on whole genome sequencing for cancer detection: Delfi's first test targets lung cancer, the deadliest cancer with low screening rates. Susan explains the importance of early detection in improving survival rates (Delfi has a 75% stage I sensitivity👏👏👏). She also tells us about Delfi's plans to expand the use of their technology into other cancers and monitoring applications.We round out the interview with Susan sharing her personal experience as a woman in the male-dominated life science industry, encouraging women to have confidence in their abilities and to pursue leadership roles:"I was worried about not having done a startup in a while or being a first-time CEO, but I realized I had the fundamentals to be successful. So, don't doubt yourself. If you feel you have the fundamentals, go for it.""In the early days at Illumina, there weren't many women in leadership roles. One of my colleagues texted me, "Apparently, the future of sequencing takes 30 men and one woman." I hadn't noticed it until then, but it was true."
About The Geonomics Podcast
Facts matter in healthcare. Now more than ever.On Apple and SpotifyFollow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgdickinson/
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