Takara Bio USA Pairs NGS Library Prep with SPT Labtech Firefly

Takara Bio USA and SPT Labtech have signed a partnership to deliver automated next-generation sequencing library preparation workflows, pairing Takara Bio's library prep chemistries with SPT Labtech's firefly liquid handling platform. The first product launched under the agreement — the SMART-Seq mRNA long read extended kit, with an optimized firefly workflow — ships in January 2027.

The companies will first optimize select SMART-seq RNA-seq library prep workflows, a new offering from Takara Bio, on the firefly platform. They plan to expand the collaboration to a growing menu of RNA-seq, DNA-seq and immune profiling kits. Both partners will present details of the collaboration at this year's annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics.

What does the deal change for core labs?

The target customers are NGS core facilities and any lab preparing libraries from high sample volumes that needs to expand throughput. Takara Bio claims these customers will gain access to ready-made automation scripts that deploy workflows generating high-quality, reproducible sequencing data and that integrate into existing lab processes. The partners also point to the firefly's small footprint, which they say suits labs constrained by staffing, space and cost.

These are vendor claims, not independent benchmarks. Neither company has published sample counts, throughput figures or head-to-head comparisons against manual prep or competing automated platforms, so labs weighing the offering will need to run their own qualification.

Which workflows are available now?

Automation scripts for two existing kits are already downloadable from the SPT cloud portal:

• SMART-Seq mRNA LP
• SMART-Seq Total RNA Library Prep with ZapR Depletion, with unique molecular identifiers

The January 2027 SMART-Seq mRNA long read extended kit becomes the first Takara Bio product to launch with a firefly-optimized workflow built in. Takara Bio claims the combined products will help labs standardize long-read transcriptomics at scale, with greater input flexibility, better recovery of full-length transcripts and greater quantification confidence, among other benefits.

How does this fit Takara Bio's portfolio strategy?

For Takara Bio, the agreement signals a shift in how it commercializes NGS products. The company is making automation an integral part of its NGS technology launch packages rather than an add-on negotiated after a kit reaches the market.

Andrew Farmer, DPhil, president and CEO of Takara Bio USA, said the company is committed to making its NGS chemistries easier to implement at scale. "Through our collaboration with SPT Labtech, automation is becoming a foundational element of how we bring NGS products to market. As we introduce new library preparation technologies, customers can expect automated workflows to be built into the product experience from the start," he said.

Paul Lomax, head of genomics at SPT Labtech, framed the deal around removing barriers to entry. The companies aim to help "more laboratories access the benefits of automated library preparation without the infrastructure requirements often associated with larger automation platforms," he said.

What should R&D managers watch next?

The near-term checkpoints are concrete: the ASHG presentation this year, expansion of the validated kit menu beyond the initial SMART-seq workflows, and the January 2027 launch of the first co-engineered long-read kit. Labs already running SMART-Seq mRNA LP or the Total RNA kit with ZapR depletion can test the existing firefly scripts now, ahead of the broader rollout.