Ion Genomics Newsletter May 13, 2026
Since the last newsletter, hantavirus genomes from the cruise ship have been sequenced and Illumina and 10x Genomics continue to launch patent infringement lawsuits.
Researchers have sequenced some of the first hantavirus genomes from people infected in the recent cruise ship outbreak. The results support what epidemiologists have suspected so far, that the index case was infected via spillover while in South America and that the virus, known as Andes virus, is being passed from person to person, as has been documented in previous outbreaks.
The genetic sequence also suggests that the virus is similar to those seen in previous Andes virus outbreaks, which is probably good news: it’s not “novel,” in the way SARS-CoV-2 was, and it doesn’t appear to have undergone any large mutations that could radically alter the way it spreads.
“For this particular outbreak, [having the genome] might help to improve contact tracing,” said Bas Oude Munnink, a virologist at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands and a leader of the analysis. “In case we start to see additional cases, we can use the genomic information to try to link them to already known patients. But let’s hope it doesn’t spread too much further.”
How to report on this virus is something that science journalists are wrestling with. On one hand, several aspects of Andes virus make it much less likely to spark a pandemic. With COVID, one could be asymptomatic and still spread it, which doesn’t appear to be the case with Andes virus. On the other hand, there are echoes of COVID-19, plus the mortality rate of nearly 50 percent adds a different level of fear.
As Oude Munnink told me, perhaps the most concerning thing is that these viruses keep popping up.
“We are able to detect these sorts of viral threats earlier on, but it is quite worrying that you see all of these different viruses: SARS-CoV-2; we have now Mpox, which is also spreading globally; we have these incidental cases [of ANDV],” he said. “I hope this will keep on being an incident with a limited number of cases, but it does show that we have to truly take care.”
In genomics industry news, old dogs are up to their old tricks:
Illumina has sued BillionToOne, alleging infringement of patents covering non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT.) It’s the latest in a long line of patent spats over NIPT for Illumina.
Similarly, 10x has launched yet another spatial biology patent infringement suit, this time against Element Biosciences and its Aviti24 instrument and Teton chemistry.
Pumpkinseed, a Stanford University spinout that I first covered while at GenomeWeb announced a $20 million Series A financing. I spoke to cofounder and CEO Jen Dionne on the sidelines of SynBioBeta about their plans to go way beyond their current ability to sequence peptides 30 amino acids long.
Cellular Intelligence, another startup that I first reported on while at my old gig, secured an investment from Novo Nordisk and global rights to that company’s abandoned stem cell therapy program for Parkinson’s disease.
Even More Q1 Results
PacBio shares fell after the company reported selling fewer benchtop long-read Vega instruments than expected.
10x Genomics reported lower Q1 revenue, year over year, though excluding a one-time settlement payment in the year ago quarter meant revenue was up slightly.
Grail Q1 revenue was up 28 percent on Galleri test growth, however, investors eagerly await trial results to be presented at the upcoming American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
Elsewhere on the Internet
FDA Head: You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit!
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is set to resign after indications that President Donald Trump was going to fire him, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal.
10x Genomics, Curio Biosciences Preparing to Settle in Spatial Patent Spat
10x and Curio, now part of Takara Bio, have reached a deal to avoid a jury trial in US District Court, per GenomeWeb.
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