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VITARI — Element Biosciences

Element's high-throughput Avidity-chemistry sequencer, positioned as a $100 / genome production workhorse above the AVITI benchtop.

At a glance

  • Vendor / launch date / availability: Element Biosciences; introduced via pre-AGBT webinar 2026-02-19; pre-orders open at AGBT; ships H2 2026 per Element press release dated 2026-02-19.
  • Chemistry / modality: Short-read sequencing-by-synthesis with Avidity chemistry (Avidite multi-base binders) on a dual-sided flow cell.
  • Throughput (PR): 10B reads per run; 3 TB of data per 2×150 dual-sided run per Element 2026-02-19 PR (vendor PR — no independent benchmark).
  • Read length: 2×75 and 2×150 at launch; 2×300 on the 2026 roadmap per Element 2026 innovation roadmap.
  • Accuracy (PR): >90% of bases at Q30 per Element 2026-02-19 PR (vendor PR — no independent benchmark).
  • List price / cost-per-genome: $689k list; $100 / 30× human genome; $1 / Gb per Element 2026-02-19 PR.

What's new vs prior generation

VITARI is Element's first high-throughput instrument, sitting above the benchtop AVITI / AVITI24 line. It moves Avidity chemistry onto a dual-sided flow cell at production scale, with output and per-genome economics targeted at NovaSeq X-class workloads rather than benchtop research. Roadmap items (2×300, expanded read structures) signal that Element is positioning VITARI as the long-term replacement for sites running both Element and Illumina production fleets.

Headline benchmarks

  • 10B reads / run; 3 TB per 2×150 dual-sided run (vendor PR — no independent benchmark) — Element 2026-02-19 PR.
  • $100 / 30× genome, $1 / Gb at the headline run configuration (vendor PR — no independent benchmark) — Element 2026-02-19 PR.

  • 90% of bases at Q30 across the dual-sided 2×150 run (vendor PR — no independent benchmark) — Element 2026-02-19 PR.

Reception / competitive context

VITARI shares the $100/genome price floor with Complete Genomics' DNBSEQ-T7+ and undercuts Illumina NovaSeq X / Ultima UG200 on instrument list price ($689k vs $850k–$1.25M for UG200 and ~$1.25M+ for NovaSeq X). GenomeWeb's "battle royale" AGBT recap frames VITARI as Element's first credible challenge to Illumina at production scale; the Element AGBT recap blog emphasizes booth traffic but does not publish third-party benchmark data.

  • Downstream Bioconductor tools: short-read aligners and variant callers (Rsubread, VariantAnnotation, methylKit for methylation panels).
  • Direct competitors in the AGBT 2026 lineup: Complete DNBSEQ-T7+ (price twin), Ultima UG200 (throughput competitor), Illumina TruPath (NovaSeq X synthetic long-read sidegrade).
  • AACR / EuroBioC tie-ins: Element AVITI is a recurring data source in AACR cancer-genomics posters; AACR 2026 posters tagged "AVITI" / "Element Biosciences" / "Avidity" will be the first cohort where VITARI-era workflows could surface in late-breaking abstracts.

Sources