Michigan company doubles size of Ann Arbor-based operations and expands to San Francisco with new commercial office space
(ANN ARBOR, Mich. and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – October 5, 2017) Swift Biosciences, a leading provider of innovative library-prep solutions for genomic sequencing, today announced the move and expansion of their headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the opening of an office in the San Francisco Bay Area. These new facilities in two fast-growing marketplaces will enable Swift to expand its manufacturing capabilities, commercial partnerships, and sales and technical support resources.
Swift is moving its headquarters to a 17,570-square-foot technology lab located within the Michigan Innovation Headquarters (MI-HQ) in Ann Arbor. MI-HQ, which will house the manufacturing of Swift’s novel library preparation solutions for emerging applications in next-generation sequencing (NGS), is advantageously located near the University of Michigan and other life science, pharma, biotech and high-tech companies.
Swift will be doubling their current research and development, and manufacturing space in Ann Arbor to accelerate the company’s growth and resource requirements. Swift’s new Class-A laboratory—opening in November 2017—will feature an open floor plan that will foster collaboration, improve overall workflow, and give the company space and flexibility to evolve with future business needs.
In addition to Swift’s growth and expansion in the Midwest, the company will open a new South San Francisco office this month. The Bay Area location offers important strategic advantages, including regional access to established and emerging hubs for NGS such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle and the Pacific Rim.
Additionally, the company will neighbor biotech leaders within the Biotech Bay such as ThermoFisher and Illumina; will be in close proximity to strategic partners such as Fluxion Biosciences; and will be easily accessible to major research institutions including UC San Francisco, Gladstone Institutes, Stanford University, UC Berkeley and Joint Genome Institute.
“Expanding into the San Francisco market was an important commitment for our company that will help us better leverage the diverse biotech industry and capitalize on the exceptional and diverse talent pool,” stated Mark Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Swift Biosciences. “We will have an active and visible presence at the geographic center of our industry, and in a region that received more than $5 billion in National Institutes of Health funding last year.”
Both the Ann Arbor and South San Francisco offices are well positioned to better facilitate networking and collaboration with major institutions and commercial partners on new applications, expand technology capability and develop more efficient, integrated genomic workflow solutions.
“Our goal at Swift is to enable scientists to generate the highest quality products and ideas, in an effort to push the boundaries of science,” stated Lewis. “We have continued to grow immensely in size and capability, which has given us the opportunity to position ourselves at the forefront of genomic sequencing applications.”
With the development and opening of Swift’s two new locations, the company is able to expand in manufacturing, sales and technical support for its customers, while also providing more jobs and opportunities within the biotechnology industry in both Michigan and California.
About Swift Biosciences
Swift Biosciences is the NGS Library Prep company. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company develops novel library preparation solutions for emerging applications based on next-generation sequencing, including whole genome sequencing, targeted DNA sequencing and epigenetic analysis. Swift Biosciences’ products are designed to help customers analyze challenging biological samples faster, easier, and with greater sensitivity and accuracy, while being compatible with leading instrumentation. Swift Biosciences is the first company to offer library preparation solutions on all three major sequencing platforms, including Pacific Biosystems, Illumina® and Ion Torrent™.
The company opened its doors in February 2010, and its product development enables new applications in multiple industries, including agrigenomics, pharmaceutical, academic, biotechnology and oncology research fields.
For more information, follow Swift Biosciences on Twitter @SwiftBioSci.