Macrogen Introduces Spatial Biology Analysis Platform "Atera" in Asia for the First Time

Integration of Expression Data for Over 18,000 Genes and Spatial Information
Expansion of Spatial Transcriptomics Analysis Services

Macrogen will introduce 10x Genomics’ spatial biology analysis platform “Atera” for the first time in Asia.

According to Macrogen on September 9, the company will hold an online webinar at 2 p.m. on the 10th, introducing the main features of Atera and presenting cases of its use in precision medicine and drug development research.

Promotional material related to "Atera Analysis Service Launch" by Macrogen. Macrogen

Building on its Songdo Global Genome Center, which was completed in June, Macrogen is expanding its services from genome and single-cell analysis to include spatial transcriptomics analysis. Spatial transcriptomics is a technology that analyzes gene expression information within cells while combining it with spatial location data in the tissue.

Atera is a platform capable of analyzing the spatial location of cells and comprehensive gene expression data for more than 18,000 genes at single-cell resolution. Unlike existing targeted panel methods that focus on approximately 5,000 genes, Atera allows for broader analysis of gene expression and spatial distribution within tissues.

It also supports high-throughput tissue analysis. The platform can analyze over 5 cm² of tissue per slide and can automatically process up to four large tissue slides simultaneously. Based on the manufacturer’s standards, it can process up to 800 whole transcriptome samples of 1 cm² annually, making it applicable for large patient cohort studies.

The platform can analyze not only fresh frozen tissue samples but also FFPE (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded) tissues. It enables analysis down to the subcellular level within cells, allowing researchers to investigate the tumor microenvironment and cell-to-cell interactions.

This webinar is targeted at professionals in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, hospital and research institution staff, and researchers in spatial biology and single-cell analysis. Application cases to be discussed include: analysis of the tumor microenvironment (TME), prediction of immune-oncology treatment response, elucidation of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying rare and intractable diseases, and identification of novel drug targets.

A representative from Macrogen stated, “With the introduction of Atera—an Asia-first—we have now secured large-scale spatial transcriptomics analysis capabilities. By integrating genome, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics analysis with AI-based data analytics, we aim to support the elucidation of disease mechanisms and the discovery of new drug targets.”

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