Genomics Gets an Upgrade: Takara Bio & Hamilton Automate RNA Sequencing

SAN JOSE, CA & RENO, NV – March 30, 2026 – In a significant move to streamline complex genomic research, life sciences leader Takara Bio USA and automation specialist Hamilton Company have announced a strategic partnership. The development and co-marketing agreement aims to deliver integrated, automated next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation workflows to laboratories across the globe, promising a new era of efficiency and reproducibility in transcriptomic analysis.

The collaboration will pair Takara Bio's renowned SMART-Seq® library preparation kits with Hamilton's high-precision Microlab® STAR™ Liquid Handling Systems. The first workflow slated for automation is for the SMART-Seq mRNA LP kit, a tool designed for creating full-length mRNA-seq libraries. This will be followed by the automation of other key products, including the SMART-Seq Total RNA Library Prep kit.

This alliance addresses a critical need within the scientific community for standardized, high-throughput solutions. By combining advanced chemistry with sophisticated robotics, the two companies intend to dramatically reduce manual labor, minimize errors, and accelerate the pace of discovery.

“We are thrilled to partner with Hamilton to enable large-scale full-length transcriptome analysis, launching our gold-standard SMART-Seq library prep workflows into an era of high consistency and efficiency provided by the Microlab STAR systems,” said Carol Lou, President & CEO of Takara Bio USA, in a statement.

Echoing this sentiment, Michael Mouradian, Vice President of Scientific Strategy and Market Development at Hamilton Company, highlighted the shared vision. “By partnering with Takara Bio, we are combining best-in-class library preparation chemistry with advanced liquid handling automation to help laboratories standardize RNA-seq workflows and accelerate the generation of high-quality data at scale.”

The Automation Revolution in Genomics

The partnership arrives at a time when the demand for genomic data is exploding, yet laboratories often face a significant bottleneck: sample preparation. Preparing NGS libraries—the process of converting RNA or DNA into a format ready for sequencing—is traditionally a meticulous, multi-step procedure that is both time-consuming and highly susceptible to human error. Minor variations in pipetting or timing can introduce biases that compromise the quality and reproducibility of the final data.

Automation directly confronts these challenges. The integration of Takara Bio’s kits on the Microlab STAR platform aims to create a “walkaway” solution where a technician can load reagents and samples, press a button, and return hours later to sequencing-ready libraries. This transition from manual to automated workflows offers a cascade of benefits. It drastically reduces hands-on time, freeing up skilled researchers to focus on experimental design and data analysis rather than repetitive liquid handling. Furthermore, the precision of robotic systems ensures that each sample is processed identically, eliminating inter-operator variability and leading to exceptionally consistent and reproducible results.

This enhanced data quality is paramount for transcriptomics, the study of the complete set of RNA transcripts in a cell. By ensuring reliable library preparation, the automated workflow enables more accurate quantification of gene expression, which is fundamental for understanding complex biological processes in health and disease.

Reshaping the Competitive Landscape

The alliance between Takara Bio and Hamilton is more than a technical integration; it is a strategic maneuver within the highly competitive NGS automation market. This sector, valued in the hundreds of millions and projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 13%, is a battleground for innovation. Major players like Illumina, Beckman Coulter, and Thermo Fisher Scientific are all vying for dominance through a mix of proprietary platforms and strategic partnerships.

By joining forces, Takara Bio and Hamilton are carving out a formidable position. Hamilton's Microlab STAR is already a well-respected platform known for its flexibility and precision, while Takara Bio's SMART-Seq chemistry is considered a gold standard, particularly for full-length RNA sequencing. This partnership creates a specialized, high-performance solution that is likely to be highly attractive to labs focused on deep transcriptomic analysis. It allows both companies to leverage each other's brand strength and market access, creating a synergistic effect that could significantly boost sales of both reagent kits and robotic systems.

This move will likely trigger a response from competitors, who may seek to forge similar alliances or accelerate the development of their own integrated workflows. The trend is clear: the future of life science tools lies not just in individual product excellence, but in the seamless integration of chemistry, hardware, and software to create holistic, user-friendly solutions.

Democratizing High-Throughput Discovery

Perhaps the most profound impact of this partnership will be its role in democratizing access to advanced genomic techniques. Historically, high-throughput automation was the exclusive domain of large, heavily funded pharmaceutical companies and core facilities. However, as systems become more user-friendly and pre-validated workflows like this one become available, the barriers to adoption are beginning to fall.

The primary beneficiaries will be academic core facilities and research institutions that serve a wide range of scientific investigators. By implementing a standardized, automated RNA-seq workflow, these facilities can offer a more reliable, scalable, and cost-effective service. This enables researchers who may lack the specialized expertise for manual library preparation to undertake ambitious, large-scale genomic studies.

As Carol Lou noted, the goal is to allow laboratories to use this trusted technology as a “routine, high-throughput research tool or service.” This shift from a niche, expert-driven technique to a routine, automated process empowers a broader spectrum of scientists to ask complex biological questions. It levels the playing field, allowing more labs to generate the high-quality data needed to compete for grants, publish in high-impact journals, and ultimately contribute to our understanding of biology.

A Glimpse into the Future of Lab Workflows

The collaboration is set to begin with the SMART-Seq mRNA LP kit, but the planned expansion to other kits in the portfolio signals a long-term vision. This roadmap suggests a future where a comprehensive suite of Takara Bio's sophisticated genomic assays can be run on Hamilton's automated platforms with minimal development time for the end-user. This model of pre-verified, off-the-shelf automation protocols is becoming the new industry standard.

This partnership exemplifies a crucial trend in the life sciences: the convergence of disparate technologies to create powerful, end-to-end solutions. As research questions become more complex and datasets grow ever larger, no single company can provide all the necessary tools. Strategic alliances that combine best-in-class expertise in reagents, robotics, and software are essential for driving the next wave of innovation.

By standardizing the front end of the sequencing process, this collaboration helps pave the way for more reliable downstream data analysis and interpretation. Ultimately, the increased efficiency, reliability, and accessibility of genomic workflows are foundational to advancing fields like personalized medicine, cancer biology, and infectious disease research, accelerating the translation of basic scientific discoveries into tangible improvements in human health.