New sequencing facility extends 24-hour turnaround time for Sanger sequencing results to all of Belgium and the Netherlands

Genomic sequencing service provider Macrogen Europe has announced the opening of a new sequencing facility in Maastricht. The strategic location close to the Netherlands’ southern border, combined with a fast in-house sample pickup service, means that Macrogen Europe can now offer Sanger sequencing results within 24 hours of sample pickup throughout Belgium and the Netherlands.

The new lab, part of the Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus, is now processing commercial samples after a thorough testing and validation process was successfully completed. It uses the same equipment, procedures and quality standards as Macrogen Europe’s main lab facility to ensure that data quality and consistency are unaffected – and that results between the facilities are fully comparable.

Macrogen Europe’s highly popular sample pickup service has been expanded to include all of the Netherlands and Belgium. This service was already serving key locations in the Netherlands and has been operating for several years to help clients combine fast, reliable data with convenient, hassle-free shipping. The new facility makes it possible to offer this service in a much wider region.

John Lee, head of Macrogen Europe’s Sanger sequencing division, commented on the news, saying: “This expansion is great news for our clients, not just in the Benelux area, but across Europe and Africa. The increased capacity means that we can continue to deliver a fast, reliable service at a time of increased orders – and to many of our clients we can even offer a much faster service than before.”

“Consistency of results is very important to our clients,” says Thananya Naknonhan, lab manager at the Maastricht facility, “so during the validation phase we’ve taken great care to make sure that the two labs produce fully consistent sequencing data.” Dr Bongcho Kim, CEO, added: “Opening this new facility in Maastricht is a key step to offering a more decentralized, local service with the fastest possible turnaround time.”

Macrogen Europe has been offering fast, high-quality Sanger and next generation sequencing services since 2008. Using the latest DNA sequencing technology from industry-leading suppliers such as Illumina, Pacific Biosciences and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Macrogen Europe delivers accurate, reliable results to researchers and industry professionals across Europe and Africa.

About Macrogen Europe BV

Macrogen Europe BV is a leading provider of Sanger sequencing, next generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics services for scientists in academia, clinical research and industry. Macrogen Europe provides flexible, fast sequencing of DNA and RNA with comprehensive, reliable data. Its services are available across Europe and Africa and include whole genome, whole exome and targeted sequencing – as well as transcriptome, epigenome, metagenome and single cell sequencing.

Macrogen Europe BV’s services are for research use only (RUO). Not for use in diagnostic procedures.