BGI Group

BGI Group, formerly Beijing Genomics Institute, is a Chinese genomics company with headquarters in Yantian, Shenzhen. The company was originally formed in 1999 as a genetics research center to participate in the Human Genome Project.[3][4] It also sequences the genomes of other animals, plants and microorganisms.[5]
BGI has transformed from a small research institute, notable for decoding the DNA of pandas and rice plants, into a diversified company active in animal cloning, health testing, and contract research.[6][7][8] BGI's earlier research was continued by the Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.[9] BGI Research, the group's nonprofit division, works with the Institute of Genomics and operates the China National GeneBank under a contract with the Chinese government.[10][11] BGI Genomics, a subsidiary, was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2017.
Starting in 2021, details came to light about multiple controversies involving the BGI Group.[12] These controversies include alleged collaboration with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and use of genetic data from prenatal tests.[13] BGI denied that it shares prenatal genetics data with the PLA.[14]
== History[edit] ==
Wang Jian, Yu Jun, Yang Huanming and Liu Siqi created BGI, originally named Beijing Genomics Institute, in September 1999,[15] in Beijing, China as a non-governmental independent research institute in order to participate in the Human Genome Project as China's representative.[16][17] After the project was completed, funding dried up, after which BGI moved to Hangzhou in exchange for funding from the Hangzhou Municipal Government. In 2002, BGI sequenced the rice genome, which was a cover story in the journal Science. In 2003 BGI decoded the SARS virus genome and created a kit for detection of the virus.[18] In 2003, the Chinese Academy of Sciences founded the Beijing Institute of Genomics in cooperation with BGI, with Yang Huanming as its first director. BGI Hangzhou and the Zhejiang University also founded a new research institute, the James D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences, Zhejiang University.[19]: 39 
In 2007, BGI broke away from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and relocated to Shenzhen.[20][10] Yu Jun left BGI at this time purportedly selling his stake to the other 3 founders for a nominal sum.[5] In 2008, BGI published the first human genome of an Asian individual.[16][21]
In 2010, BGI bought 128 Illumina HiSeq 2000 gene-sequencing machines,[3][16] which was backed by US$1.5 billion in "collaborative funds" over the next 10 years from the state lender China Development Bank.[5][22][23] By the end of the year, they reportedly had a budget of $30 million.[24] In 2010, BGI Americas was established with its main office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, and BGI Europe was established in Copenhagen, Denmark.[25][26] By 2018, BGI opened offices and laboratories in Seattle and San Jose in US,[3] and London in the UK, as well were founded BGI Asia Pacific with offices in Hong Kong, Kobe (Japan), Bangkok (Thailand), Laos, Singapore, Brisbane (Australia) and many others.[27][28][third-party source needed]
In 2011, BGI reported it employed 4,000 scientists and technicians,[29] and had a $192 million in revenue.[5] BGI did the genome sequencing for the deadly 2011 Germany E. coli O104:H4 outbreak in three days and released it under an open license.[30] Since 2012, it has started to commercialize its services, having investments from China Life Insurance Company, CITIC Group's Goldstone Investment, Jack Ma's Yunfeng Capital, and SoftBank China Capital.[31] That year they also launched their own scientific journal, GigaScience,[32] partnering with BioMed Central to publish data-heavy life science papers.[33] A new partnership was subsequently formed between the GigaScience Press department of BGI and Oxford University Press and since 2017 GigaScience has been co-published with the Oxford University Press.[34][35]
In 2013, BGI bought Complete Genomics of Mountain View, California, a major supplier of DNA sequencing technology, for US$118 million, after gaining approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.[5][30][36] Complete Genomics is a US-based subsidiary of MGI, MGI was a subsidiary of BGI before it was spun out and listed on the Shanghai stock exchange in 2022.[37]
In 2015, BGI signed a collaboration with the Zhongshan Hospital' Center for Clinical Precision Medicine in Shanghai, opened in May 2015 with a budget of ¥100 million. They are reportedly being involved as a sequencing institution in China's US$9.2-billion research project for medical care which will last for 15 years.[3][38] In May 2017, was announced formation of West Coast Innovation Center, co-located in Seattle and San Jose, on the first location planned to work on precision medicine and feature collaborations with University of Washington, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Washington State University, while on the second's already existing laboratory with 100 employees to develop the next-generation sequencing technologies.[3] In May 2018, reached an agreement with Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto), Canada, for first installation of BGISEQ platforms in North America.[39]
BGI Genomics, a listed subsidiary of the group[40] made an initial public offering in July 2017 at Shenzhen Stock Exchange.[10] In 2018, the BGI was reportedly 85.3% owned by Wang Jian, and the group owns 42.4% of its main unit BGI Genomics.[41]
In 2019, it was reported that a BGI subsidiary, Forensic Genomics International, had created a WeChat-enabled database of genetic profiles of people across the country.[42][43][44][45][46] In July 2020, it was reported that BGI returned a Paycheck Protection Program loan following media scrutiny.[47]
In 2021, state-owned enterprises of State Development and Investment Corporation and China Merchants Group took ownership stakes in BGI Genomics.[48]