PacBio Names Jason Kang as Vice President and General Manager for Asia-Pacific Region

Strategic hire will expand Company’s commercial presence in key geography

MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PacBio (NASDAQ:PACB), a leading provider of high-quality, long-read sequencing platforms, welcomes Jason Kang as Vice President and General Manager for the company’s Asia-Pacific region. Jason will be responsible for leading and developing PacBio’s commercial team in Asia-Pacific as the company continues to expand its reach in the region to support rapidly growing demand for HiFi sequencing.

Kang brings more than 25 years of global experience in the genomics industry to PacBio, having led Illumina’s Korean commercial operations for six years before launching Helixrus, which specializes in distributing large scale populational genomics and clinical sequencing software solutions in single-cell RNA and rare diseases. Prior to Helixrus and Illumina, Kang held various sales, marketing, and product development leadership roles at Life Technologies, Macrogen, and Spectral Genomics.

“We’re delighted Jason is joining us in our mission to enable the promise of genomics to better human health,” said Peter Fromen, Chief Commercial Officer at PacBio. “Jason is a proven leader having built numerous successful teams in the industry and brings a customer-centric obsession to his work that is paramount in our mission and values. Under Jason’s leadership, we’re very excited to continue our expansion across the Asia-Pacific region.”

“Coming on board with this team is a wonderful opportunity to develop a new era of genomics with researchers in this region,” said Jason Kang, Vice President and General Manager of Asia-Pacific at PacBio. “I am truly excited to expand our technology footprint and expand our business in Asia-Pacific.”

The global reach of PacBio’s industry-leading long-read SMRT HiFi genome sequencing technology was showcased in the company’s recent Virtual User Meeting, which ran in Asia-Pacific, European and United States time zones. The keynote address by Professor Masahito Kawazu of Japan’s National Cancer Center Research Institute, discussing full-length transcriptome analysis of breast cancer, showcased the growing opportunities for PacBio technology in the Asia-Pacific region.

About Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) is empowering life scientists with highly accurate long-read sequencing. The company’s innovative instruments are based on Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT^®) Sequencing technology, which delivers a comprehensive view of genomes, transcriptomes, and epigenomes, enabling access to the full spectrum of genetic variation in any organism. Cited in thousands of peer-reviewed publications, PacBio^® sequencing systems are in use by scientists around the world to drive discovery in human biomedical research, plant and animal sciences, and microbiology. For more information, please visit www.pacb.com and follow @PacBio.

PacBio products are provided for Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to anticipated commercial and geographic expansion in APAC; possible partnerships with researchers in the region; potential increases in customer demand; and other future events. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond PacBio’s control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the information expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in PacBio’s most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including PacBio’s most recent reports on Forms 8-K, 10-K, and 10-Q, and include those listed under the caption “Risk Factors.” PacBio undertakes no obligation to revise or update information in this press release to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.

Contacts

Investors:
Todd Friedman
650.521.8450
ir@pacb.com

Media:
Kathy Lynch
pr@pacb.com