To ensure a trusted and efficient environment for clients and providers to work together, the
following policies apply to all Genohub-managed projects:
General Project Policies
Project scope and price: When the service provider confirms a quote and the
client accepts it, both parties agree on the scope, turnaround time and cost of the service
exactly as specified in the quote
Turnaround time:
Service providers are required to specify a guaranteed turnaround time for every confirmed quote
on Genohub. Once a quote has been confirmed by the provider and accepted by the client the
project is subject to our Turnaround Time Policy. If any issues arise
that may affect the turnaround time, the provider should communicate them with the client as
soon as possible.
Changes in project scope or price: The service provider is responsible for
performing the service exactly as specified in the confirmed and accepted quote. If the provider
determines that there is a need to deviate from the accepted quote they must first submit a
revised quote to the client. Genohub requires the client’s explicit approval of the revised
quote in order to be able to make the necessary payment adjustments.
Data quality: Sequencing projects are by default subject to Genohub’s Standard Quality Policy, unless the client and the provider
agree otherwise and this agreement is documented on the project page.
Project communication: Service providers are strongly encouraged to respond to
all customer
queries within two business days. We strongly recommend that all written communication between
the client and the provider is conducted on the project page. Providers and clients may discuss
the project on the phone or through other channels but for Genohub to assist with any potential
problems we require that you post a short summary of any updates or agreements to the project
page.
Shipping input material:
The client may ship the input material to the provider soon after accepting a proposed quote,
but work on the project may start only when the payment arrangements are complete (e.g. we
have received a purchase order, upfront payment or credit card authorization). The provider is
not responsible for storing the samples for longer than 30 days, so if the PO or payment process
is going to take longer the client must time the shipment accordingly. Please see the Sample Storage Policies for details. Unless otherwise specified, the client
is responsible for all shipping charges when shipping the input material to the provider.
Genohub's Standard Quality Policy
For any Genohub project involving either library preparation, sequencing or both:
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The provider is required to perform quality control (QC) on the input material, i.e. samples
or
pre-constructed libraries shipped by the client, regardless of whether the client has
performed their own QC. If the provider wishes to charge for this QC, they need to
explicitly state the cost for sample or library QC failure before confirming a quote.
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If the input material fails the provider’s quality requirements, the provider must inform
the client before proceeding with further library preparation or sequencing work. The
provider may cancel the project if input material fails the provider’s quality requirements.
If the provider agrees to proceed, the client can choose to ship new input material, or
request that the sequencing run proceed at the client’s own risk. If the client decides to
ship new input material, additional charges for QC and handling may be assessed by the
provider. Unless otherwise agreed by both sides, the provider is not responsible for the
quality of output data if the input material does not meet provider's requirements.
For Genohub projects where the provider performs both library preparation and sequencing:
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If the input material passes the provider QC it is the responsibility of the provider to
deliver sequencing data that meet sequencing read guarantees in the quote. This includes
redoing the sequencing run if necessary at no additional cost to the client. Sequencing read
guarantees only apply for libraries the provider constructs and sequences. Unless otherwise
specified in the quote, the provider agrees to deliver pass filter reads that are at least
85% of manufacturer specifications.
E.g. If 10 samples are submitted for 1 lane of sequencing and the manufacturer
specification for 1 lane is 100M pass filter reads, the guarantee is 8.5M pass filter
reads/sample. If 85% is not appropriate for a project, the provider must enter the number
of guaranteed reads or state that a guarantee can't be offered.
For all Genohub projects:
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If there is a dispute between the client and the provider beyond what is specified in the
quotation, Genohub will mediate to determine if reasonable expectations were met. If it’s
determined that the delivered project output does not meet such reasonable expectations it
is the
responsibility of the provider to remedy the situation and redo the work if
necessary at no additional cost.
Turnaround Time Policy
The following are definitions of key project milestones for the purpose of tracking turnaround
time:
Project Start Date: The project is considered started when the latest shipment
of input material has been received by the provider, the client has submitted all of the
requested information, and the project has been confirmed by Genohub.
Result Delivery Date: The date when the provider delivers the result to the
customer and sets the project status to Results Delivered. The client has 10 days
starting from the result delivery date to review the data and communicate any issues/concerns
about the results.
Project Completion Date: The project is considered complete 10 days after the
Result Delivery Date or the date when the client acknowledges that the project was
completed to their satisfaction, whichever earlier.
Turnaround Time (TAT): the number of calendar days from
Project Start Date to Result Delivery Date.
Each confirmed Genohub project has a Guaranteed TAT. If the actual TAT exceeds the guaranteed TAT
the client may request to be refunded a missed TAT penalty. To do so, the client must make a
written request to Genohub within 10 calendar days of the result delivery date. This request
will be honored at the discretion of Genohub only if it is determined that the provider has been
solely responsible for the delay. The provider will be liable for the missed TAT penalty.
The missed TAT penalty is equal to 0.5% of the original project total for every 1% delay over the
guaranteed TAT. The maximum TAT penalty will be 25% of total project size.
For the purpose of determining the actual TAT we don't count the time durations when the project
is on pause
pending input from the client.
Here are a couple of example scenarios for a $1000 project that has a guaranteed TAT of 20
days:
Example 1:
Actual TAT: 22 days
Delay = (22 - 20) / 20 = 10%
Missed TAT penalty = 5% of project amount = $50 refunded to the client
Example 2:
Actual TAT: 35 days
Delay = (35 - 20) / 20 = 75%
TAT penalty = 25% of project amount (37.5% capped at 25%) = $250 refunded to the client
Feedback Period
Once the project results (e.g. sequencing data, data analysis reports, etc.) are delivered, we
give clients a feedback period to review the results and bring up issues. Any issues with
project results must be communicated on the project page. If no issues are raised during the
feedback period we will mark the project as complete, which authorizes Genohub to release the
payment to the provider.
Genohub’s normal feedback period is 10 calendar days from the time project
results are available. If more time is needed, the feedback period can be extended to
20 calendar days upon client's request. Any request for extending the feedback
period must be made within the initial 10-day feedback period.
Payments
Genohub is the trusted third party that acts as the payment intermediary between the client and
provider. This means that all project payments are made to Genohub regardless of which provider
performs the service.
- Payment options for each project are displayed at the bottom of the quote. For some US-based
clients (academic institutions, large non-profit organizations, research hospitals and
large enterprises) we accept purchase orders and full payment will be due after the
completion of the project. For other institutions upfront payment is due before the project
starts.
- Genohub releases the payment to the provider only after the project has been completed and
the expected deliverables as specified on the accepted quote have been met.
- Accepted payment methods include credit card (for orders under $10,000), wire transfer, ACH
(US & Canada), and check (US & Canada).
Confidentiality and Intellectual Property
All project information, samples and data a client sends or communicates to the service provider
or Genohub is considered confidential. Genohub and the provider will only use the client’s
confidential information to perform services, and will not disclose any information to any third
party.
Any project-related information furnished by the client, including supplementary files and
documents, as well as any data or reports generated as part of the project are considered the
intellectual property (IP) of the client and are never transferred to the provider or
Genohub.
If a signed agreement is required, please request Genohub’s Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Cancellations and Refunds
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The client can cancel the project at no cost as long as they haven't shipped the input
material yet. Genohub will issue a full refund to the client if a payment has already been
made.
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The provider can request that the project be canceled if the input material doesn’t meet
their quality requirements. The client would be responsible for any provider-specified QC
charges up to that point.
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If the client raises an issue about the quality of the results during the Feedback Period, depending on the situation, the provider may be asked
to repeat the service or a partial or full refund may be assessed at the sole discretion of
Genohub. The provider will be liable for any such partial or full refund.
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If the client raises an issue after the Feedback Period, any refunds
will be at the discretion of the provider.
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The client may be eligible for a partial refund as per Genohub’s
Turnaround Time Policy.
Data Storage and Transfer
The service provider will upload the sequencing data or data analysis results to the secure data
bucket associated with the Genohub project. The client has access to this data for up to
90 days at no additional charge. After 90 days, all the data will be deleted from
Genohub servers. Instructions for how to access the project data bucket can be found in
the Data tab of the project.
The data retention period can be extended for an additional charge. To extend the data retention
period the client must notify Genohub before the current data retention period expires.
Genohub data buckets may only be used for the purpose of transferring data between the service
provider and the client. Please do not share your project data bucket credentials publicly or
with 3rd parties.
All other project-related data outside of the Data tab (i.e. messages, quotes, uploads to the
Files tab, project notes, etc) will continue to be available indefinitely.
Sample Storage Policy
The client may ship the input material to the provider soon after accepting a proposed quote, but
work on your project may start only when we have received either a purchase order or upfront
payment, as indicated on the invoice sent to the client. The provider is not responsible for
storing the samples for longer than 30 days, so if the PO or payment process is going to take
longer the client must time the shipment accordingly.
After one month from the receipt of the samples if the client hasn’t taken the requested payment
action the provider may request that the project be canceled, in which case the input material
will be returned to the client. The client will be responsible for all shipping charges.
Once the project is complete, the service provider will either return the remaining samples to
the client or discard them; unless otherwise agreed upon by both parties. Additional charges may
apply for shipping samples back to the client.
Research and Ethical Compliance
By accepting a quote on Genohub, the client declares and certifies that all resulting data will
only be used for research purposes and not for clinical testing or diagnostics. All samples
shipped to the service provider must be non-hazardous, non-infectious and not an etiologic
agent. It is the sole responsibility of the client to ensure that their research complies with
all applicable laws and ethical guidelines. In the specific case of shipping human samples, the
client is responsible for ensuring that all applicable Institutional Review Board (IRB) or
similar Ethics Committee requirements are met.