Legal
Last updated: 13 October 2026
Version of 13 October 2026. In the event of any discrepancy between language versions, the French version prevails.
1.1. These terms govern orders for laboratory, sequencing, bioinformatics and related services (the "Services") placed by a professional customer (the "Customer") through the OMICS4 client portal (the "Portal").
1.2. OMICS4 is a brand of GENXMAP SAS, a French simplified joint-stock company (société par actions simplifiée) with share capital of EUR 1,000, whose registered office is at 9 rue Jacques Réattu, 13009 Marseille, France, registered with the Marseille Trade and Companies Register under number 882 253 685 ("GENXMAP"). GENXMAP SAS is the only entity that contracts with the Customer and issues invoices for Services ordered through the Portal.
1.3. The Portal is for professionals only (laboratories, research institutions, companies). It is not intended for consumers.
1.4. Order of precedence: (1) the signed quote or service agreement; (2) where applicable, the purchase order, for references, quantities and prices only, its own general terms being excluded unless GENXMAP accepts them in writing; (3) these terms; (4) the platform booking terms for instrument-time bookings.
1.5. Results are provided for research use only and do not constitute medical, diagnostic or clinical advice.
2.1. Quotes. Each Service is covered by a quote or a price displayed in the Portal. Prices are in euros excluding VAT; applicable VAT is added. A quote is valid for 30 days from the date of issue.
2.2. Private customers (companies, associations, etc.). An order placed in the Portal after express acceptance of these terms (checkbox) constitutes acceptance of the quote and binds the Customer; it is confirmed immediately. The accepted text and the date of acceptance are kept with the order.
2.3. Public institutions (universities, hospitals, research bodies). The order is confirmed upon receipt of the purchase order issued by the institution, uploaded to the Portal through a secure link or sent to GENXMAP; without a purchase order the order remains pending and no Service is started. The Customer provides the commitment or purchase-order number, which must appear on the invoice. If the purchase order has not been received, GENXMAP sends the Customer a reminder; if no purchase order has been received 30 days after the order and after a reminder, the booking is cancelled.
2.4. Chorus Pro. Invoices to French public buyers are submitted through Chorus Pro; the Customer provides, at the latest when ordering, its SIRET number, the recipient service code and, if applicable, the commitment number (the service code is that of the laboratory or recipient entity, which may differ from the payer).
2.5. Cancellation. Cancellation must be made before the samples are shipped, by contacting sales@omics4.com. After shipment or receipt of the samples, Services already started remain payable; for instrument-time bookings, article 5.6 applies; stopping a project performed in phases is governed by article 2.6.
2.6. Stopping between two phases (quoted projects). Where a quoted project is performed in phases, the Customer may stop it between two phases, by written notice sent to sales@omics4.com, on 10 working days' notice, unless a different notice period is set out in the quote or the contract. The stop takes effect at the end of the notice period or, if later, at the end of the phase in progress; it never takes effect during a phase. All costs incurred up to the effective date remain payable: logistics, quality controls, materials and consumables ordered or used, and work performed. GENXMAP issues a closing invoice for these sums, less any deposits already paid, payable within 30 days.
2.7. Authority. The Customer warrants that the people placing orders are authorised to bind it. The account manager of the Customer's space manages its users; GENXMAP is not liable for orders placed with valid credentials.
3.1. Customer responsibility. The Customer provides accurate identification, correct labelling and the necessary metadata; warrants that the sample was lawfully obtained and, where applicable, with the required consent, ethics approval and biosafety declarations; and discloses any known hazard, infectious status or special handling requirement before shipment.
3.2. Pseudonymised samples. Samples are identified by a code chosen by the Customer, never by the name or any direct identifier of a person. The Customer alone keeps the correspondence table. No identifiable health data may be uploaded to the Portal (see the Privacy Policy).
3.3. Conformity on receipt. Samples must comply with the sample submission guidelines (quantity, concentration, purity, integrity, packaging, labelling). GENXMAP checks the samples on arrival (tube condition, cold chain, identification matching the manifest): if the sample is compliant, the Services proceed; in case of doubt, GENXMAP informs the Customer within 1 working day (with a photograph) and nothing is committed without the Customer's instruction; if the sample is unusable, it is set aside before any cost is incurred and only reception is invoiced. After quality control, if the thresholds applicable to the Service are not met, GENXMAP proposes an alternative (re-extraction, low-input protocol, adjusted depth) as soon as possible; if no protocol is compatible, reception, extraction and quality control remain payable and nothing further is invoiced. The applicable quality thresholds are those given in the technical data sheet of each Service and in the sample submission guidelines.
3.4. Transport. Shipment to the laboratory is at the Customer's cost and risk, in accordance with the guidelines (dry ice or ambient temperature depending on the type); the carrier is chosen by the laboratory or by the Customer. The Customer may request carrier collection: it takes place on the scheduled day provided the order is confirmed no later than 6:00 pm (Paris time) on the day before the collection; otherwise it is postponed to the next scheduled collection. Collection fees are invoiced on the quote or the order where they apply.
3.5. Taking charge and traceability. Samples are taken in charge upon receipt. GENXMAP provides documented chain-of-custody traceability from receipt, following the protocols described in the sample submission guidelines.
3.6. Destructive protocols. Some protocols consume the whole sample; GENXMAP states this before starting.
3.7. Retention, return, disposal. Unused material is kept for 3 months after delivery of the final report and then destroyed, unless the Customer requests its return, in which case shipping costs and arrangements are at the Customer's expense.
4.1. Turnaround times shown in the Portal, on the website or in a quote are indicative estimates based on the queue and the typical duration of protocols; they are not a contractual delivery date, unless a date is confirmed in writing in a signed quote or service agreement.
4.2. Times are expressed in working days and run, depending on the Service, from compliant receipt of the samples or from quality-control approval (see 3.3).
4.3. Urgent processing may be agreed on a case-by-case basis; its terms and price are then set out in the quote.
4.4. A delay gives no right to penalties or compensation unless a signed quote expressly provides otherwise.
5.1. Prices. Prices are in euros excluding VAT, according to the tariff or quote in force at the time of the order. A minimum batch may apply to some Services; below it the Service does not start.
5.2. Invoicing and payment.
5.3. Payment term. The terms in article 5.2 apply; they may not exceed the statutory ceilings (60 days from the invoice date, or 45 days end of month). For public institutions, the global payment period of public procurement (30 days) runs from receipt of the invoice.
5.4. Late payment. Any delay automatically entails, without formal notice: (a) late-payment interest at the European Central Bank rate (latest refinancing rate) plus 10 percentage points, calculated on the amount including tax due from the day after the due date; (b) a fixed recovery indemnity of EUR 40 (articles L. 441-10 and D. 441-5 of the French Commercial Code), without prejudice to further compensation on proof of costs. For public buyers, the default interest and fixed indemnity provided by the French Public Procurement Code apply. GENXMAP may suspend Services in progress.
5.5. Discounts. No discount is granted for early payment. Any discounts are granted only on a quote. No set-off is permitted without written agreement.
5.6. Deposit and slot booking (instrument time). The slot is confirmed only when the deposit has been received, within 10 working days of the quote; rescheduling is free of charge up to 10 working days before the slot; cancellation: deposit refunded in full at 15 working days or more before the slot, 50% retained between 5 and 14 working days, non-refundable below that.
5.7. Electronic invoices. Invoices are made available in the Portal and sent to the billing address provided. The Customer notifies GENXMAP of any change of payer or billing address.
6.1. Delivery. Reports and results are placed in the Customer's space in the Portal, alongside the quote and invoice; large datasets are delivered through a named, time-limited link with a SHA-256 checksum manifest or, at the Customer's choice, on a hard drive.
6.2. Availability period. Results remain available in the Portal for 3 months from being posted; large raw datasets, for 90 days. The Customer is invited to download them within these periods; after them GENXMAP may delete them. Longer retention is possible on quote, for a fee.
6.3. No biological guarantee. Results are produced according to the documented protocol and the announced quality thresholds. GENXMAP does not guarantee a specific biological outcome (yield, library complexity, variant detection) beyond meeting those thresholds; results depend in part on the quality of the sample supplied.
6.4. Complaints. Any dispute as to conformity must be notified in writing within 7 days of delivery of the results. After that period the Service is deemed accepted. A new analysis is offered if the non-conformity is attributable to GENXMAP; otherwise it is invoiced.
7.1. Confidentiality. Each party keeps confidential the non-public information received from the other in connection with the order, for 3 years after the end of the Service. Major projects may be covered by a separate confidentiality agreement, which prevails.
7.2. Customer results and data. Samples and data supplied by the Customer belong to the Customer. Delivered results are assigned to the Customer upon full payment of the price: GENXMAP assigns the rights needed to use them freely.
7.3. Laboratory know-how. GENXMAP retains its know-how, methods and tools: protocols, processes, scripts, pipelines, models, software and improvements (including those developed during the Service) remain its exclusive property. The GENXMAP and OMICS4 names and marks, the Portal and its content are protected; no right is granted to the Customer beyond use of the Portal.
7.4. Usage data. GENXMAP may use aggregated, anonymised performance data (quality indicators, volumes) for internal statistics only. Such data is never resold, nor published in a way that identifies a Customer.
7.5. References. GENXMAP names or shows the Customer's logo as a reference only with the Customer's prior written consent. If the Customer publishes results, it acknowledges GENXMAP's contribution in accordance with scientific practice (acknowledgement, or co-authorship in the case of intellectual contribution).
7.6. Partners. For platforms delivered with a named partner, its specific terms are communicated before work begins.
8.1. For Portal account, contact and order data, GENXMAP acts as data controller; the Portal Privacy Policy describes the processing, retention periods, recipients and rights.
8.2. Where the Customer's samples or data contain personal data (pseudonymised research data only), the Customer remains the data controller and GENXMAP acts as processor within the meaning of article 28 of the GDPR; GENXMAP processes such data only on the Customer's documented instructions. The Customer is responsible for consent or the legal basis, for informing the data subjects and for the necessary authorisations. A data processing agreement is available on request.
8.3. The Portal is not a health-data hosting service and GENXMAP is not an HDS-certified host. Uploading data that directly identifies a person, or identifiable health data, is prohibited. Projects requiring HDS hosting are handled outside the Portal.
9.1. GENXMAP has an obligation of means. To the extent permitted by law, its liability is limited to direct and foreseeable damage and capped at the price, excluding VAT, of the Service concerned; it is not liable for indirect damage (loss of chance, of business, of data, of publication, of funding, programme delay).
9.2. These limits do not apply in case of gross negligence or wilful misconduct, to bodily injury, or where the law prohibits them.
9.3. GENXMAP is not liable for loss or deterioration of samples in transit, nor for their original poor quality; GENXMAP's responsibility for samples begins on compliant receipt. Samples consumed by a destructive protocol cannot be replaced.
9.4. Any clinical, diagnostic or regulatory use of the results is the Customer's responsibility, and the Customer validates them independently.
Neither party is liable for a failure caused by force majeure within the meaning of article 1218 of the French Civil Code (for example prolonged power or network failure, strike, epidemic, carrier delay or loss, unavailability of essential reagents or equipment beyond GENXMAP's control, administrative decision, cyber-attack despite adequate security measures). Deadlines are suspended; if the impediment lasts more than 60 days, either party may terminate the order without indemnity, Services already performed remaining payable.
Access is by invitation; credentials are personal and must not be shared; the account manager is responsible for its users' access. The Customer must not disrupt the Portal or access data that is not its own. GENXMAP may suspend access in case of abuse or security risk.
12.1. Changes. GENXMAP may update these terms; the version applicable to an order is the one accepted at the time of the order, a copy of which is kept with it.
12.2. Entire agreement, severability. These terms and the quote form the entire agreement; the invalidity of one clause does not affect the others.
12.3. Language. In the event of any discrepancy between the French and English versions, the French version prevails.
French law. Failing an amicable settlement, the Commercial Court of Marseille (Tribunal de commerce de Marseille) has exclusive jurisdiction (or the judicial court of Marseille depending on the nature of the dispute), including in the case of multiple defendants or third-party claims. This clause does not override mandatory rules to the contrary, in particular those applicable to public buyers.
GENXMAP SAS, OMICS4 brand, 9 rue Jacques Réattu, 13009 Marseille, France. Orders and commercial questions: sales@omics4.com; laboratory: lab@omics4.com; general enquiries: contact@omics4.com; personal data: privacy@omics4.com; telephone: +33 4 13 73 24 81.