Roche unveils sequencing by expansion technology

Feb. 24, 2025—Roche unveiled a proprietary sequencing by expansion (SBX) technology that offers ultra-rapid, high-throughput sequencing that is flexible and scalable for a broad range of applications, including whole genome sequencing, whole exome sequencing, and RNA sequencing. The novel sequencing approach uses a sophisticated biochemical process to encode the sequence of a target nucleic acid molecule (DNA or RNA) into a measurable surrogate polymer called an Xpandomer. Xpandomers, which are 50 times longer than the original molecule, encode the sequence information into high signal-to-noise reporters. This enables highly accurate single-molecule nanopore sequencing using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based sensor module with parallel processing capabilities. The module is designed to process numerous samples simultaneously, creating a highly scalable and flexible architecture for cost-efficient sequencing across different project sizes, from small-scale studies to large projects involving thousands of samples.