PacBio's TRGT can sequence broader sections of DNA, giving scientists and clinicians better odds of spotting repeated sections of DNA linked to disease.

When the sector worries about regulation it is usually about drug development and registration. But governments also regulate on monopolistic positions in life sciences. Adding to that, national security enforcement is now rising.

When almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong at a company, the proposition of it turning acquirer may meet with some resistance from its proposed targets and their investors.

Eikon launched in 2021 with $148m in series A venture capital and former Merck R&D head Roger Perlmutter as its CEO, but even with half a billion dollars in fresh cash, the firm has not revealed its therapeutic focus.