IMU Biosciences and UK Biobank will generate a single-cell immune profiling AI foundational dataset from 80,000 blood samples collected from UK Biobank participants using Ultima Genomics' UG200™ Sequencing Platform and the BD Rhapsody™ Single-Cell Platform from Waters Corporation
Ultima's technology continues to support the addition of new omics data layers for UK Biobank and foundational dataset generation for AI following its selection as the sequencing technology for the 600,000-sample UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project
FREMONT, Calif., Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultima Genomics, Inc., developer of ultra-high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms, today announced that its recently launched UG200 Sequencing Platform has been selected to power a new large-scale immune profiling study with IMU Biosciences and UK Biobank. The study will generate one of the most detailed pictures of the human immune system assembled to date, adding a high-resolution immune data layer and a foundational dataset for AI to UK Biobank, one of the world's most important biomedical research resources.
The study combines IMU's High Definition (HD) Immunology platform with the BD FACSDiscover™ Cell Analyzer platform and BD Rhapsody™ single-cell multiomics platform from Waters Corporation and Ultima's sequencing to profile blood samples from an initial cohort of 80,000 blood samples from UK Biobank participants with ambition to expand across the full UK Biobank cohort of 500,000 participants. The project will begin in 2026 and will add a new immune profiling data layer on top of UK Biobank's existing de-identified genomic, imaging, clinical and lifestyle data. Over time, the resulting data will be returned to UK Biobank and made available to approved researchers studying how immune variation relates to disease risk, progression, treatment response and long-term health outcomes.
As part of the selection process, Ultima's UG200 Sequencing Platform was validated to have excellent performance with the BD Rhapsody ™ platform and to provide quality, low-cost, and scale to enable the large-scale project. The UG200 Sequencing Platform was launched in February 2026 to select early access sites and is now shipping broadly. Paired with the BD Rhapsody™ single-cell multiomics platform, Ultima makes sequencing-intensive, single-cell multiomics applications economically viable at population scale, enabling studies that were previously impractical.
The selection builds on Ultima's selection for the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project and its track record of executing large-scale data-generation programs with technology and application partners. Uniting UK Biobank's population-scale samples with single-cell immune profiling, the collaboration is designed to generate immune data at the scale, reproducibility, and resolution needed for both broad biomedical research and future immune-prediction studies. Ultima's NGS cost roadmap and automation are intended to support the planning and continuation of even larger, AI-scale projects over time.
"Understanding the immune system at population scale demands sequencing that is high-throughput, high-quality, and at extremely low cost to make a study of this ambition viable," said Gilad Almogy, Chief Executive Officer of Ultima Genomics. "Our platform was designed to unlock biology at a scale previously thought impossible, and we are proud to be selected alongside the BD FACSDiscover™ Cell Analyzer platform and BD Rhapsody single-cell multiomics platform from Waters to power foundational dataset generation and enable a new layer of single-cell immune-profiling data for IMU Biosciences and UK Biobank. Building on our ongoing work with the 600,000-sample UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project, this demonstrates the platform's suitability for large-scale omics data generation from large, deeply characterized biobank cohorts."
About Ultima Genomics
Ultima Genomics is unleashing the power of genomics at scale. The Company's mission is to continuously drive the scale of genomic information to enable unprecedented advances in biology and improvements in human health. With humanity on the cusp of a biological revolution, there is a virtually endless need for more genomic information to address biology's complexity and dynamic change—and a further need to challenge conventional next-generation sequencing technologies. Ultima's revolutionary new sequencing architecture drives down the costs of sequencing to help overcome the tradeoffs that scientists and clinicians are forced to make between the breadth, depth and frequency with which they use genomic information. The new sequencing architecture was designed to scale far beyond conventional sequencing technologies, lower the cost of genomic information, and catalyze the next phase of genomics in the 21st century. To learn more, visit www.ultimagenomics.com.
About IMU Biosciences
IMU Biosciences is using its High-Definition Immunology platform to decode the immune system at unprecedented resolution, speed, and scale to pioneer a paradigm shift in how we understand, diagnose and treat disease.
Founded by experimental immunologists and computational biologists with over a decade of expertise from the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London, IMU combines deep immune profiling from small blood samples with population scale immune reference data and AI analysis as it builds the world's largest immune dataset.
The HD Immunology platform uses a simple blood sample to measure the immune system in unprecedented detail to help clinical, pharma and biotech partners interpret immune biology with greater resolution and predict clinical outcomes earlier, while also establishing a universal standard for immune profiling to fuel discoveries.
IMU is applying its platform across a broad range of immune-mediated diseases and therapeutic contexts, with active programmes in stem cell and bone marrow transplantation, solid organ transplantation, and immuno-oncology. To learn more, www.imubiosciences.com
About Waters Corporation
Waters Corporation is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. For more information, please visit www.waters.com/about.
The BD Biosciences and BD Diagnostic Solutions businesses have been acquired by Waters Corporation ("Waters"). Becton, Dickinson and Company or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries ("BD") remains the legal manufacturer of Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions products until all required regulatory transfers are completed. During this interim period, BD maintains full responsibility for all regulatory obligations of the legal manufacturer. Product information provided here is supplied under BD's regulatory authority. To learn more about the relationship between Waters and BD during this transition period, please see our detailed summary: www.waters.com/bdtransaction.
About UK Biobank
UK Biobank is the world's most comprehensive source of biomedical data available for health research in the public interest. Over the past 15 years we have collected biological, health and lifestyle information from 500,000 UK volunteers. The dataset is continuously growing, with additions including the world's largest set of whole genome sequencing data, imaging data from 100,000 participants and a first-of-its kind set of protein biomarkers from 54,000 participants. Since 2012, scientists from universities, charities, companies and governments across the world can apply to use the data to advance modern medicine and drive the discovery of new preventions, treatments and cures. Over 22,000 researchers, based in more than 60 countries, use UK Biobank data, and more than 18,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published as a result. The data are de-identified and stored on our cloud-based platform. UK Biobank is a registered charity and was established by Wellcome and the Medical Research Council in 2003. You can read more about our funding here: www.ukbiobank.ac.uk, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram.
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