Pacific Biosciences announced a new chemistry and a program to allow select customers to reuse SMRT cells, aiming to lower per‑genome consumable costs for large sequencing projects. PacBio projects savings up to 40% for high‑volume users and touted the move as enabling cost‑per‑genome under $300 for large cohorts. The company said the update pairs with Sprq‑Nx chemistry for modest throughput gains and expanded methylation detection. PacBio positioned the change to accelerate adoption of long‑read sequencing for population and clinical genomics, stating it will launch a beta program and engage major biobank customers.