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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – September 2, 2025 – EquiSeq Inc, a biotechnology company developing DNA tests for inherited muscle disease in horses, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent Number 12,398,426, “Methods of Detecting Inherited Myopathies in Horses.” The patent includes claims covering specific genetic mutations that predispose to muscle disease in horses, allowing the design of a rational breeding program to reduce the incidence of equine muscle disease. The patent, and EquiSeq’s other patent, U.S. Patent Number 16/088,247, “Method of Detecting Inherited Equine Myopathy,” describe the use of DNA testing to identify damaging genetic variants in six different horse genes. The patented technology has been in commercial use since 2017, with thousands of horses tested. The test is sold directly to consumers, including horse owners, breeders, and veterinarians. The technology has been licensed by Generatio GmbH, a company in Germany that provides equine genetic testing for Europe. DNA testing is a well-established technology that works reliably on all DNA, regardless of the source. In the United States, EquiSeq uses allele-specific PCR, a rapid test that returns results quickly enough for a pre-purchase exam. In Germany, Generatio uses an Illumina BeadArray, a comprehensive test for tens of thousands of variants….

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA June 20, 2025 EquiSeq, a leader in developing genetic tests for horses, is pleased to announce the appointment of Madison R. Sanders to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Ms. Sanders is an experienced equestrian with a proven track record in sales and marketing. She is a lifelong hunter/jumper equestrian and a driven entrepreneur. She left the corporate world, where she worked in sales and marketing, to found Elite Equine Marketplace, a digital platform tailored to the hunter/jumper community. “We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Sanders to our Board,” said CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Paul Szauter. “Madi combines decades of experience as an equestrian with a record of success in sales and marketing. In her new role, Ms. Sanders will increase the adoption of EquiSeq’s DNA test among horse owners, breeders, and veterinarians.” “I am honored to join EquiSeq at this time of opportunity,” said Ms. Sanders. “I look forward to working with the Board to achieve its goal of improving horse health through genetic testing and breeding programs grounded in science.” EquiSeq is a leading provider of genetic tests for horses. Since its founding in 2015, the company has been committed to identifying genetic…

Four members of EquiSeq’s Scientific Advisory Board. Left to right: David Nannemann, Paul Szauter, Jesse Young, and Jeremy Edwards. Four members of EquiSeq’s Scientific Advisory Board met on June 2 to get acquainted and to discuss ongoing research projects. Science team members Jeremy Edwards (University of New Mexico), Jesse Young (TriCore Reference Laboratories), David Nannemann (Rosetta Design Group), and Paul Szauter (EquiSeq) attended. Jeremy Edwards will lead the effort to screen whole genome sequence data for potentially damaging variants using an extensive gene list developed by Paul Szauter. David Nannemann will assess the effects of current and future variants on protein structure. Jesse Young will explore the possibility of adding ancestry testing to EquiSeq’s offerings. The meeting marked the first time that some members of the Scientific Advisory Board had met each other. They agreed to continue to meet in person from time to time to supplement email and Zoom meetings. Learn more about EquiSeq’s team on our Team Page.

Dr. Melissa Cox, a scientist at Generatio, visited with Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Paul Szauter at EquiSeq’s office in Albuquerque. Dr. Cox was visiting for a friend’s wedding, and made time for a two-hour discussion of scientific work at Generatio GmbH. Dr. Cox reviewed the results of a survey of horse owners exploring symptoms in over 2,000 tested horses. A first analysis of the results appeared to show a statistical association of most of the variants with particular symptoms. With additional work, this study is expected to be ready for peer review in early 2024. Drs. Cox and Szauter also discussed ongoing work at EquiSeq using cell culture, a yeast assay, and experiments in zebrafish aimed at discovering the effects of specific variants on the proteins encoded by COL6A3, MYOZ3, PYROXD1, and FLNC. The meeting was a reunion for the two scientists, who overlapped at The Jackson Laboratory years ago. When EquiSeq began marketing its tests, Dr. Cox reached out about the possibility of licensing EquiSeq’s genetic tests. The conversation moved from email to a first phone call, where the two discovered that they had both been employed at The Jackson Laboratory at the same time. Dr. Cox recalled attended…

Albuquerque, New Mexico A collaborative research team assembled by researchers at EquiSeq will end its offer of free testing for Standardbreds and Haflingers on March 31, 2023. The project is aimed at studying the K1 variant of COL6A3, which is present in high frequency in these breeds. The K1 variant affects the structure of collagen in muscle tissue. Collagen is part of the connective tissue that surrounds muscle fibers. Human patients with similar mutations have a myopathy called COL VI-related dystrophy. The K1 variant affects the organization of connective tissue in a cell culture assay, as reported by Chief Scientific Officer Paul Szauter at the 20th Anniversary Symposium of the Genome Sciences Department at the University of Washington in November 2022. Kirsten Dimmler, formerly a Bioinformatics Analyst at EquiSeq and now a graduate student with Dr. Molly McCue at the University of Minnesota, reported additional findings at the Plant and Animal Genomes conference in January 2023. The free testing program is open to all Standardbreds and Haflingers in the United States. Horse owners seeking testing will receive a consent form and hair sample pack by mail. To participate, send an email to contact@EquiSeq.com with the number of Standardbreds or Haflingers you…