Roche Diagnostics K.K. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kei Maeda; hereinafter referred to as Roche) will launch "AXELIOS 1," a next-generation sequencing (NGS) solution employing its proprietary Sequencing by expansion (SBX) technology, for research use on July 1, 2026. With the introduction of this solution, Roche will strongly support cutting-edge genome and genetic research, expanding the possibilities of sequencing. NGS, which comprehensively analyzes gene sequences, has greatly contributed to elucidating disease mechanisms. However, conventional technologies face barriers to rapid research progress, including "long turnaround time (TAT) to obtain results," "high running costs," and the "requirement for batch processing" where instruments are operated only after a certain number of samples have been collected. Roche aims to realize a future where everyone can benefit from optimized genomic medicine. To achieve this, we believe a new solution equipped with "speed, flexibility, scalability, and accuracy" is necessary. AXELIOS 1 will be a crucial first step in building the future genomic medicine infrastructure, seamlessly supporting everything from "whole genome analysis" to comprehensively acquiring gene sequence data, to "panel assays" that examine a small number of target genes. ■ Proprietary Technology "SBX Technology" Supporting AXELIOS 1 is "SBX Technology," developed to overcome the limitations of previous NGS. It converts sample DNA sequence information into molecules called "expanders," which are expanded to more than 50 times the length of the original DNA. These molecules are passed through approximately 8 million micro-holes arranged on an ultra-small sensor. As they pass through, electrical signals from the "reporter codes (markers)" on the expanders are detected and read as gene sequences. This proprietary approach, which measures DNA information after stretching it to a "readable size" beforehand, overcomes conventional technical