Roche's new gene-sequencing machine poses little threat to Oxford Nanopore Technologies, according to an industry expert hosted by analysts at Citi.
The bank kept its buy rating, with a high-risk tag, and a £2.10 target price on the Oxford-based DNA sequencing company.
Citi had invited Dr Sam Datwani, a genomic sequencing specialist, to discuss the competitive landscape in next-generation sequencing, the fast-moving technology used to read DNA.
Datwani said Roche's AXELIOS system was a credible rival to other short-read platforms, which decode DNA in small fragments, rather than a challenger to the long-read technology that Oxford Nanopore specialises in.
Long-read sequencing reads much longer stretches of genetic code in one pass, offering a richer biological picture.
He saw particular value for the approach in biopharmaceutical quality control and selected clinical uses, where that extra detail can sharpen molecular analysis and improve diagnosis.
Among long-read providers, Datwani favoured Oxford Nanopore over US rival Pacific Biosciences, citing greater flexibility, lower running costs and broader use across laboratory workflows.
Citi said the comments supported its own view of the company's standing in the sequencing market.
The bank reiterated that Roche's nanopore-based sequencer threatened existing short-read players rather than Oxford Nanopore itself.
