PacBio began shipping SPRQ-Nx chemistry for the Vega system this week, a launch that meaningfully expands what benchtop HiFi sequencing can do. A companion software update arrives alongside it, together bringing higher yield, lower costs, shorter run options, expanded multiomics capabilities, and new controls for regulated labs, all without requiring changes to existing library prep. The combined effect is a meaningful shift in what HiFi sequencing on the benchtop can deliver, and for which labs and applications it now becomes a practical reality.
To hear directly from the PacBio experts behind these updates, explore the on-demand webinar covering SPRQ-Nx on Vega across targeted sequencing and microbial applications, and learn how labs can evaluate whether Vega is the right path to bringing long-read sequencing in-house.
What SPRQ-Nx adds to a system already built for accessibility
At its core, SPRQ-Nx brings the same chemistry powering the Revio system to Vega. For Vega, a system already built to make HiFi sequencing accessible at a benchtop scale and price point, this is a significant step forward powering all applications to get more from the same setup.
SPRQ-Nx drives yield up to 90 Gb of HiFi data per run, with sequencing consumables priced at ~$995 per run. DNA input requirements drop to as little as 500 ng, a fourfold reduction that opens more sample types to labs working with limited starting material. Methylation detection is now in full parity with Revio, with 5hmC joining 5mC and 6mA calling and improved algorithms across all three marks, adding richer epigenomic information to every run without any additional workflow steps.
Additionally, new 2-hour and 4-hour sequencing options make single-shift results possible for short-insert workflows like targeted amplicon sequencing that previously required an overnight run. Taken together, these updates expand what you can do with one HiFi run in ways that matter across a wide range of labs and research areas.
A path into regulated sequencing workflows
For many labs in biopharma, clinical research, and other regulated settings, 21 CFR Part 11 is an important consideration. This FDA regulation establishes requirements for electronic records and signatures, governing how data is captured, attributed, and protected against alteration.
The Vega software update now includes user authentication and audit logging capabilities in SMRT Link that, together with validation procedures and access policies labs put in place, enables support for 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, helping bridge the transition from research to regulated laboratory settings, including those operating under GMP.
For biopharma labs developing or validating sequencing assays, hospital-based infectious disease programs, and other organizations operating under regulated oversight, this is a meaningful shift. A benchtop HiFi sequencer that can be configured to support regulated workflows changes the conversation for labs that previously had to look elsewhere, or forgo long-read sequencing altogether.
Higher throughput for PureTarget targeted sequencing
PureTarget has become one of the defining applications on Vega, enabling accurate detection at repeat expansion and carrier screening loci that short-read sequencing simply cannot resolve reliably. With SPRQ-Nx chemistry, multiplexing scales to up to 96 samples per run, a significant jump that drives per-sample consumable costs down to approximately $90 and library prep costs to approximately $80 per sample. For clinical research labs processing these panels at volume, the economics of running PureTarget in-house shift in a real way, and the workflow infrastructure is there to support it. PureTarget 96 is designed as a complete end-to-end workflow from library prep through sequencing and analysis, with automation support via the Hamilton NGS STAR MOA system for labs ready to operate at that scale.
The CHU Nîmes customer success story shows what is possible with PureTarget on the Vega system. Within about three months of installation, the team went from instrument setup to routine use for repeat expansion disorders, consolidating multiple legacy assays into a single in-house workflow. Read the blog to see how quickly a motivated lab can move when the workflow is designed to support them.
More flexible microbial genomics
Microbial sequencing benefits from the same improvements across a wide range of workflows. Whether the work involves microbial WGS, shotgun metagenomics, full-length 16S/ITS sequencing, or viral amplicons, SPRQ-Nx makes each more capable.
For metagenomic applications, the throughput improvements are substantial. Metagenome profiling now scales to 96 communities per run and metagenome assembly to 12 communities per run, and Kinnex-based full-length 16S sequencing reaches 1,536 communities per run. For researchers generating large-scale metagenomic datasets, higher multiplexing capacity per run changes the scope of what is achievable on a benchtop instrument.
The lower DNA input threshold matters equally for environmental and low-biomass sample types, where DNA yield is constrained by the nature of collection like water samples, swabs, and air filters. These sample types now become more routinely viable for microbial isolate WGS, shotgun metagenomics profiling, and metagenome assembly with HiFi sequencing with fewer samples needing to be rejected or redirected to amplification approaches that sacrifice methylation information.
Short-insert run options bring full-length amplicon microbiome sequencing workflows, including bacterial 16S, eukaryotic 18S, and fungal ITS, within a single-shift turnaround. Clinical research labs, infectious disease programs, and public health labs can now realistically go from sample to report in under 24 hours on the Vega system. And for microbial labs operating in regulated settings, the 21 CFR Part 11 enablement built into this update applies across all of these workflows.
Where Vega with SPRQ-Nx goes from here
HiFi long-read sequencing has consistently delivered biological insight that other approaches could not, and Vega has made that capability accessible to labs that could not previously justify the footprint or investment of a larger system. Now with SPRQ-Nx chemistry, Vega delivers on that promise for a broader range of labs than ever before. And the potential for what that shift makes possible, across rare disease, microbiology, biopharma, and beyond, is only just beginning to come into view.
To explore what SPRQ-Nx means for your specific workflows, the on-demand webinar is a practical next step, with expert discussion across applications and a closer look at performance.