Roche and Arizona Technology Partner to License Nanopore DNA Sequencing System

Swiss company, Roche and Arizona Technology Enterprises, Arizona State University’s exclusive organisation for transfer of technology and management of intellectual property, have signed an agreement to license the development of a low-cost, nanopore DNA sequencer with a single molecule and make it available for commercial usage.

The DNA sequencer is part of DNA sequencing technologies developed by Dr. Colin Nuckolls from Columbia University’s Nanoscience Centre and Dr. Stuart Lindsay from the Biodesign Institute at the Arizona State University. Under this technology, a new method of sensing and reading DNA bases within a single DNA molecule when it crosses a nanopore will be developed through a collaboration between Roche, IBM and 454 Life Sciences.

The research team is also in the process of creating a third generation reader molecule that has the capability to differentiate between different DNA bases. According to Thomas Schinecker who is the president of 454 Life Sciences, the new DNA sequencing technology will be an enhancement to the already existing DNA transistor technology, which was developed by IBM Research and will help in creating a platform that can sequence a human being’s genome at a very low cost. While all the aspects of the agreement were taken care by Arizona Technology Enterprise, commercialisation of the technology will be achieved through funding to Dr. Lindsay’s team.  Dr. Lindsay and her colleague Bharath Takulapalli have already received a grant of $5 million for their research work in the area of DNA sequencing.