Roche Licenses Nanopore Sequencing Technologies for Fast, Cost-Effective DNA Sequencing

Roche (Basel, Switzerland) and Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE; Scottsdale, AZ, USA) announced an agreement to license several technologies developed by Dr. Stuart Lindsay at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU; Tempe, USA) and Dr. Colin Nuckolls of the Columbia University Nanoscience Center (New York, NY, USA) for the development of a cutting-edge DNA sequencing system.

The licensed technologies include specialized approaches for DNA base sensing and reading and build on an ongoing collaboration between Roche’s sequencing center of excellence, 454 Life Sciences (Branford, CT, USA), and IBM (Armonk, NY, USA) to develop and commercialize a single-molecule nanopore DNA sequencer with the capacity to rapidly decode an individual’s complete genome for well below US$1000.

The licensed technologies offer novel approaches for reading the sequence of bases, or letters, in a single DNA molecule as it is passed through a nanopore. The team has demonstrated the proof-of-concept, and it is in the midst of making a third generation reader molecule that provides better discrimination between the DNA bases. The licensing agreement with Roche will help convert these findings into a commercial instrument.

“Our promising approach, which combines advances in physics, electronics and nanotechnology, eliminates the need for the use of a major cost of sequencing today--namely, the use of chemical reagents--to read an individual’s genome,” said Lindsay, an ASU professor and director of the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Single Molecule Biophysics.

“We believe that the DNA reading technologies from the Biodesign Institute are the most advanced available, and will play an important role in our nanopore sequencing system currently under development,” said Thomas Schinecker, president of 454 Life Sciences (Branford, CT, USA), a Roche Company, “This will complement the DNA Transistor technology from our previously announced collaboration with IBM very well to form the core of a superior platform for extremely fast, very low-cost genome sequencing.”

The DNA Transistor technology, developed by IBM Research, slows and controls the movement of the DNA molecule as it winds through a microscopic nanopore in a silicon chip, while the newly licensed DNA reading technology can decode the bases of the DNA molecule as it passes through. Both technologies are centered on semiconductor-based nanopores, which have advantages over protein-based nanopores in terms of control, robustness, scalability, and manufacturability.

The deal was brokered by Arizona Technology Enterprises, the exclusive intellectual property management and technology transfer organization of Arizona State University, and it includes sponsored research funding that will help Dr. Lindsay’s team move the technology towards commercialization. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD, USA), recently awarded Lindsay and fellow Biodesign researcher Bharath Takulapalli more than $5 million for their work in DNA sequencing. ASU was the only university to receive more than one award.

Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company with differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism, and central nervous system disorders.

AzTE is a nonprofit organization that operates as the exclusive intellectual property management and technology transfer organization for ASU and its research enterprise. Comprised of industry and university veterans, AzTE brings together ASU’s researchers and industry partners to transform discoveries into marketable products and services, taking innovation out of the lab and into the commercial marketplace. AzTE currently offers for licensing more than 300 novel technologies in the life and physical sciences

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