# Paragon Genomics

> Paragon Genomics is a Fremont, California biotechnology company that makes it faster and cheaper to read the parts of a genome that actually matter. Its patented CleanPlex amplicon sequencing technology turns tiny or degraded DNA and RNA samples into sequencing-ready libraries in a few hours, powering targeted next-generation sequencing for cancer research, infectious-disease surveillance, inherited-disease testing and agricultural genomics. Founded in 2015 and backed by an $8M Series A, the company sells both ready-to-use and custom NGS panels to more than 300 labs worldwide.

- **Founded:** 2015
- **Headquarters:** Fremont, California, United States
- **Founders:** Tao Chen (Co-Founder & CEO), Zhitong Liu (Co-Founder, President & CTO)
- **Team size:** ~16 employees
- **Products:** CleanPlex Technology, CleanPlex DNA & RNA Panels, CleanPlex UMI, OmniFusion, Custom NGS Panel Design
- **Notable:** Developed and patented CleanPlex amplicon target-enrichment technology bridging amplicon and hybrid-capture methods., Raised an oversubscribed $8M Series A in 2017., Grew adoption to 300+ organizations worldwide.

## Products & services

- **CleanPlex Technology** — Patented amplicon-based NGS target enrichment combining a proprietary multiplex PCR primer-design algorithm, uniform amplification chemistry and a patented background-cleaning chemistry that removes non-specific PCR products.
- **CleanPlex DNA & RNA Panels** — Ready-to-use targeted sequencing panels for DNA and RNA that convert samples into sequencing-ready libraries in a fast multi-step workflow.
- **CleanPlex UMI** — Amplicon panels with unique molecular identifiers for high-sensitivity detection of low-frequency variants such as circulating tumor DNA.
- **OmniFusion** — Assay for detecting gene fusions from RNA, used in oncology research.
- **Custom NGS Panel Design** — Custom-designed amplicon panels built to a customer's specific gene list and targets, delivered as a validated assay.
- **CleanPlex SARS-CoV-2 Panel** — Whole-genome amplicon panel for research and surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, later scaled to pool 20,000+ samples per sequencing run and used to identify variants of concern.

## Achievements

- Developed and patented CleanPlex amplicon target-enrichment technology bridging amplicon and hybrid-capture methods.
- Raised an oversubscribed $8M Series A in 2017.
- Grew adoption to 300+ organizations worldwide.
- Shipped a whole-genome CleanPlex SARS-CoV-2 NGS panel within weeks of the pandemic's onset in 2020.
- Panel independently validated in peer-reviewed publications for accurate identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (Alpha, Delta).

## Latest updates

- **2021-07** — New peer-reviewed publications confirmed the CleanPlex SARS-CoV-2 panel accurately identifies variants of concern including the Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Delta (B.1.617.2) lineages.
- **2020-07** — Company developed a higher-throughput version of its CleanPlex SARS-CoV-2 panel, targeting pooling of 20,000+ samples per sequencing run.
- **2020-03** — Launched the CleanPlex SARS-CoV-2 NGS panel for COVID-19 research and surveillance, covering the entire viral genome with a roughly 5-hour workflow.

## Links

- Website: https://paragongenomics.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/paragon-genomics-inc.
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/paragongenomics
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCparagongenomics
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/paragongenomics/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paragon-genomics
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Last updated: 2026-07-11