BGI continues to expand in US

BGI Group USA aims for more opportunities to work with local partners with the opening of its new office in Seattle.

"We want to open the Seattle office to expand our business in the US, to enhance our partnerships with our local partners such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Allen Institute, the University of Washington and many others, and to look for merger and acquisition opportunities," said Yiwu He, CEO of BGI Group USA, at a reception on Wednesday in downtown Seattle.

The co-founder and president of BGI Dr. Wang Jian is an alumnus of the University of Washington (UW) and worked as a senior research fellow there from 1990 to 1994.

BGI's Chinese brand name Huada is similar to a Chinese translation of "UW" for the University of Washington.

Over the years, BGI has maintained strong connections and worked extensively with major research institutes, organizations and enterprises in Seattle.

"Seattle has always been a special place for Dr. Wang and the company. We call our move to Seattle part of BGI's back-to-the-US plan," He said.

On May 11, BGI and UW Medicine signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on biomedical technology development. Their shared aim is to advance precision medicine for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of common and rare diseases.

"This agreement between the cities of Seattle and Shenzhen will encourage and support meaningful cooperation between two global leaders of innovation in medical research and technology," Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said.

"Ultimately, it will create new opportunities for our biotech and health care industries, and help advance pioneering medical technology that will benefit patients, doctors and communities around the globe," he added.

"BGI is a respected partner in scientific discovery," said Dr. John Slattery, vice-dean for research and graduate education at UW School of Medicine.

"This new relationship will help fast-track genomic research in some critical areas of medicine."

Founded by Chinese geneticists in 1999 and once known as the Beijing Genomics Institute, the now Shenzhen-based BGI has grown from a non-profit research organization into a multinational company.

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 12/09/2016 page3)