Recap: Roche’s AXELIOS 1 Platform Seminar

By Caitlyn Romanski

Electronic circuits and logic gates of a computer motherboard are pictured in a spot-lit, macro-photo view at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on April 17, 2026.
Photo by Jeff Miller, UW–Madison

On Monday, November 9, the Center for Precision Medicine hosted Roche Sequencing & Life Sciences for its AXELIOS 1 Platform Seminar, with Sequencing Specialist Chris Higgins providing deeper insight into Roche’s innovative AXELIOS 1 sequencing platform. With the center currently exploring various sequencing options, AXELIOS 1 is the first commercial instrument built on Roche’s sequencing by expansion (SBX) technology.

Having only just launched for research use this past summer, SBX takes a different approach from sequencing by synthesis. When this platform is utilized, each DNA molecule is copied into an Xpandomer, a surrogate polymer more than 50 times longer than the original. This Xpandomer is then analyzed base by base through nanopores on a reusable CMOS sensor. After stretching this molecule out, the machine then gives a clean, high signal-to-noise readout, providing users with nanopore-style, real-time single-molecule reads without typically observed nanopore error rates.

Why people are excited:

  • Speed. About 1.8 Tb in a ~4-hour run, which is roughly 16 genomes at 30×. Reads are base-called in real time, and Roche reports under 5 hours from sample to result for single samples with its SBX-Fast workflow.
  • Flexible batching. Short, tunable runs could mean you no longer need to wait for a full flow cell to make the economics work.
  • Accuracy and cost. Duplex reads show ~Q38–39 concordant base accuracy. Early-access WGS gave SNV F1 of about 99.7% and indel F1 of about 99.5%. The quoted cost is ~$150 per 30× genome, on a ~$750K instrument.
  • Applications relevant to precision medicine research. The duplex workflow takes low inputs, including 2.5–10 ng of cfDNA, which matters for liquid biopsy, MRD and somatic oncology. A simplex mode also gives longer reads at very high throughput for RNA-seq, fragmentomics and single-cell/spatial work through a 10x Genomics partnership.

With tunable run times and flexible batch sizes, AXELIOS 1 is set to redefine the next-generation sequencing (NGS) space by providing a streamlined solution for diverse applications, creating innovative use opportunities within the growing field of precision medicine.