Takara Bio USA and Hamilton Partner to Automate NGS Library Preparation

Takara Bio USA, Inc. (San Jose, CA, USA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., and Hamilton Company (Reno, NV, USA) announced a development and co-marketing agreement to deliver integrated, automated next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation workflows to laboratories worldwide.

The collaboration focuses on verified automation methods for Takara Bio USA’s SMART-Seq library preparation kits on Hamilton’s Microlab STAR Liquid Handling Systems. The first automated technology will be the SMART-Seq mRNA LP kit, which streamlines the creation of full-length mRNA‑seq libraries. Automation script development is also slated for the SMART-Seq Total RNA Library Prep with ZapR Depletion kit.

Image: The collaboration focuses on verified automation methods for Takara Bio USA’s SMART-Seq library preparation kits on Hamilton’s Microlab STAR Liquid Handling Systems (photo courtesy of Hamilton Company)

By combining Takara Bio’s library preparation chemistry with Hamilton’s liquid-handling automation, the integrated workflows are designed to reduce hands-on time and errors while increasing throughput and lowering labor costs. The Microlab STAR platform and associated methods support scalable, end-to-end, assay-ready workflows. Verified, standardized protocols are intended to deliver consistent, reproducible library preparation and high-quality data for downstream sequencing and transcriptomic analyses.

The approach is positioned for laboratories and core facilities that require routine, high-capacity RNA‑seq operations. The collaboration is intended to enable use of full-length transcriptome analysis as a research tool or service on a standardized, high-throughput platform. Takara Bio USA is also a sponsor of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from March 28–31, 2026, where core facilities professionals can meet with company representatives.

“The automation of Takara Bio library prep kits allows laboratories, including core facilities, to use our trusted technology as a routine, high-throughput research tool or service,” said Carol Lou, President & CEO at Takara Bio USA. “We are thrilled to partner with Hamilton to enable large-scale full-length transcriptome analysis, launching our gold-standard SMART-Seq library prep workflows into an era of high consistency and efficiency provided by the Microlab STAR systems.”

“At Hamilton, our focus is enabling fully integrated, scalable workflows that bring consistency and efficiency to complex biological processes,” said Michael Mouradian, Vice President of Scientific Strategy and Market Development at Hamilton Company. “By partnering with Takara Bio, we are combining best-in-class library preparation chemistry with advanced liquid handling automation to help laboratories standardize RNA-seq workflows and accelerate the generation of high-quality data at scale.”

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