MGI also launched a new AI tool “αLab Studio” and announced collaborations with six top research institutes and enterprises in Hong Kong Science Park

Hong Kong, September 10, 2024 - MGI  (MGI Tech Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries, collectively referred to as MGI), a company committed to building core tools and technologies that drive innovation in life science, today announced strategic collaboration. This collaboration involves the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (“HKSTP”), and six scientific research institutions and enterprises that have settled in the park, including InnoHK’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Health, Hong Kong Institute of Science & Generation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (“CRMH”); InnoHK’s Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases(“HKCeND”) ; Quantum Life Limited; Asia Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory Limited (“ADML”); Codex Genetics and GemVCare. These collaborations aim to jointly build a world-class life science innovation ecosystem in Hong Kong to propel the development of global innovation ecosystem. Additionally, MGI launched its latest product “αLab Studio” which integrates artificial intelligence technology and automation. The new laboratory management platform will reduce the time for designing experiments and simplify the process of research and experiments.

Building A Synergetic Innovation Ecosystem for Life Science

The signing ceremony was held during the Future of Omics Conference hosted by MGI.  Witnessed by Professor Dong Sun, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong SAR; Dr Sunny Chai, Chairman of HKSTP; Dr Jian Wang, Chairman of MGI; and Mr Duncan Yu, President of MGI, Ms Gracie Ng, Chief of Staff of HKSTP and Mr Vincent Lin, Director of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan of MGI, signed the agreement.

Professor Dong Sun, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said, “Our strategic location, world-class infrastructure, strong scientific research capabilities and extensive global connectivity make Hong Kong an ideal destination for nurturing cutting-edge research and development (R&D). The Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint also clearly indicated our development focus on technology industries of strategic importance, including life and health technology. I am delighted to learn that MGI has decided to deepen its collaboration with the Hong Kong Science Park by strengthening their strategic partnership with a view to establishing a R&D centre in Hong Kong, and establish partnership with six partner companies including two of our InnoHK research centres. I look forward to seeing the fruits of the collaborations that will propel the development of precision medicine in Hong Kong.”

Dr. Sunny Chai, Chairman of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, said, “Together with MGI, we embark on a transformative journey that will redefine the landscape of biotechnology and precision medicine, shaping the future in ways we have yet to imagine. We anticipate that MGI's presence will attract a host of ecosystem partners, reinforcing Hong Kong's status as a strategic hub for global expansion. This will spark further collaborations and innovations across the region, solidifying our position on the world stage.”

Under the collaboration, MGI and HKSTP and will build a world-leading laboratory of advanced life science together to provide researchers with state-of-art equipment including gene DNBSEQ sequencing, CycloneSeq sequencing, single-cell and spatial-transcriptomics analysis. Apart from organising regular international conferences and seminars for start-ups to connect with international experts and investors, both parties will cultivate high-skilled talents to bolster the development of life sciences in Hong Kong and around the world, with a view to enhancing public health.

"While MGI's mission is to develop and promote advanced life science tools for future healthcare, the application of these tools in frontier research truly gives them meaning and value. We are excited to hand with all the institutions and companies in Hong Kong Science and Technology Park to build a synergetic innovation ecosystem, providing advanced and user-friendly multi-omics tools for more cutting-edge scientific research and its translational application. This initiative aims to empower the innovation ecosystem in Hong Kong and contribute to making life science innovations accessible to everyone." said Duncan Yu, President of MGI.

MGI signed strategic cooperation agreements with six research institutes and enterprises in Science Park, with Dr. Pan Guangjin, Director of CRMH, HKISI-CAS (InnoHK); Prof. Tom Cheung, Assistant Director of HKCeND(InnoHK); Dr. Christine Huang Yuan, Technology Transfer Director of QuantumLife; Dr. Jeffery Lai, Medical Laboratory Director of AMDL; Dr. Aldrin Yim, CEO and co-founder of Codex Genetics; Dr. Cadmon LIM, COO of GemVcare; Mr. Vincent Lin, Director of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan of MGI as signing representatives respectively. MGI will provide the above strategic partners with advanced life science tools to accelerate translational research in the fields of neurodegenerative diseases, regenerative medicine, integration of quantum technology and artificial intelligence, molecular diagnostics, precision medicine, precision genomics, and diabetes, among others.

The collaborations demonstrate the progress of all parties in knowledge exchange on technology and mutual benefits following the opening of MGI αLab in the Science Park last year. MGI established its presence at Science Park last year and set up the αLab to allow more users to enjoy one-stop intelligent multi-omics solutions conveniently in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region. In March this year, MGI signed a partnership with the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) of the Hong Kong SAR Government. It is a core member in fostering the development of new quality productive forces in Hong Kong’s life science.

αLab Studio: Your Intelligent Laboratory Assistant

On the occasion of collaborations with HKSTP, Yang Meng, Assistant General Manager of MGI, announced the launch of αLab Studio, MGI’s intelligent laboratory assistant, to the market. Integrating cutting-edge AI technology with MGI’s automation technique, αLab Studio aims to address end users’ pain point of manual operation during experiments with one-stop laboratory management solution.

Yang Meng, Assistant General Manager and VP of MGI R&D, shared his excitement towards the future of intelligent laboratory. "With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology, laboratory automation is progressing toward a more autonomous level of intelligence. The ultimate vision of αLab Studio is to build an integrated tool for life science laboratories that coordinates the 'hand, eye, and brain,' achieving a deep integration of biotechnology and information technology. By incorporating technologies such as digital twins, 3D modeling, and simulation, αLab Studio will continue to evolve and drive the development of a digital twin brain for laboratories in virtual space. Additionally, it will further adopt embodied intelligence technologies to enable intelligent connections between workstations."

Powered with cutting-edge AI technology, αLab Studio revolutionize laboratory management and offers a host of advantages and features designed to streamline the experiment design process, including:

l  AI-Assisted Experiment Demand Analysis: The platform utilizes AI to automatically analyze experimental objectives and data to recommend optimized experimental plans, reducing design time, and complexity, and improving experiment success rates.

l  Drag-and-Drop Experiment Design: Users can easily create experimental workflows by dragging and dropping modules in an intuitive interface, which simplifies the design process and enhance laboratory efficiency, and enables a wide range of complex experiments.

l  Generative AI for Experiment Protocol Script Generation: Generative AI automatically generates experimental protocol scripts, ensuring precise execution of experiments and improving the reliability of experimental outcomes.

l  Expanded capabilities: The system supports real-time experiment monitoring, secure storage of experiment records and reports, and enables team collaboration and sharing of experiment designs and data, ensuring an efficient experiment workflow and robust experiment management.

Based on users’ feedback in early-stage trials, αLab Studio has shortened the time for designing experiments and writing computer codes by 40% and 60% respectively, significantly simplifying the process of experiments in scientific research.

By harnessing the power of automation, MGI is committed to promoting global scientific research and innovation with the integration of artificial intelligence. Looking ahead, αLab Studio will continue to expand its capabilities to meet the diversified experiment demand for life science research.  

Photo 1: Witnessed by Professor Dong Sun, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong SAR; Dr Sunny Chai, Chairman of HKSTP; Dr Jian Wang, Chairman of MGI; and Mr Duncan Yu, President of MGI, Ms Gracie Ng, Chief of Staff of HKSTP and Mr Vincent Lin, Director of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan of MGI, signed the agreement.

Photo 2: Professor Dong Sun said he was delighted to learn that MGI has decided to deepen its collaboration with the Hong Kong Science Park by strengthening their strategic partnership with a view to establishing a R&D centre in Hong Kong, and establish partnership with six partner companies, propelling the development of precision medicine in Hong Kong.

Photo 3: Dr Sunny Chai said that HKSTP and MGI have embarked on a transformative journey that will redefine the landscape of biotechnology and precision medicine, shaping the future in ways we have yet to imagine.

Photo 4: Duncan Yu said that MGI was excited to hand with all the institutions and companies in HKSTP to build a synergetic innovation ecosystem, providing advanced and user-friendly multi-omics tools for more cutting-edge scientific research and its translational application, contributing to making life science innovations accessible to everyone.

Photo 5: MGI signed a strategic cooperation agreement with InnoHK’s Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Photo 6: MGI signed a strategic cooperation agreement with InnoHK’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Health, Hong Kong Institute of Science & Generation, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Photo 7: MGI signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Quantum Life.

Photo 8: MGI signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Asia Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory Limited.

Photo 9: MGI signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Codex Genetics.

Photo 11: Meng Yang announced the debut of αlab Studio.

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About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) was established in 2001 to create a thriving I&T ecosystem grooming 12 unicorns, more than 14,000 research professionals and over 2,000 technology companies from 29 countries and regions focused on developing healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies, etc.

Our growing innovation ecosystem offers comprehensive support to attract and nurture talent, accelerate and commercialise innovation for technology ventures, with the I&T journey built around our key locations of Hong Kong Science Park in Pak Shek Kok, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong and three modern InnoParks in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long realising a vision of new industrialisation for Hong Kong, where sectors including advanced manufacturing, micro-electronics and biotechnology are being reimagined.

Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch in Futian, Shenzhen plays positive roles in connecting the world and the mainland with our proximity, strengthening cross-border exchange to bring advantages in attracting global talent and allowing possibilities for the development of technology companies in seven key areas: Medtech, big data and AI, robotics, new materials, microelectronics, fintech and sustainability, with both dry and wet laboratories, co-working space, conference and exhibition facilities, and more.

Through our R&D infrastructure, startup support and enterprise services, commercialisation and investment expertise, partnership networks and talent traction, HKSTP continues contribute in establishing I&T as a pillar of growth for Hong Kong.

More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.