2013
Apr 23, 2013DNAe confirms continued development of semiconductor sequencing
DNA Electronics today confirms that it will be continuing the development of a semiconductor sequencing platform after Roche passes its project to DNA Electronics as part of the changes to Roche Applied Science announced today.
DNA Electronics now plans to take the project forward, differentiated with a new focus that leverages the company’s expertise and IP in rapid and integrated DNA analysis platforms.
Regius Professor Chris Toumazou, CEO and founder of DNA Electronics, a thought-leader in the semiconductor technology, commented “I would like to thank Roche for our fruitful collaboration and for handing us back the project. Harnessing additional unlicensed IP, and without any limitations on field of use, DNAe will now continue the development of the platform but with a new focus to create a disruptive total solution.”
Commenting on Roche’s decision, Head of Roche Applied Science, Dr Dan Zabrowski said that “Our experience of the DNA Electronics partnership was a positive one. We look forward to see DNAe take the technology forward.”
2012
Oct 15, 2012DNAe licensee geneOnyx introduces world’s first in-store DNA test
DNA Electronics’s licensee geneOnyx has made this ground-breaking DNA analysis technology available for the first time at The Organic Pharmacy through a simple saliva test and anti-ageing consultation, removing the guesswork when selecting the best individual skincare solution. The service, which uses DNAe’s Genalysis® platform, is available as an in-store treatment to The Organic Pharmacy customers at the flagship Kings Road store in London. The limited-time service preview is being made available to The Organic Pharmacy ahead of a global launch by geneOnyx early next year.
Sep 09, 2012DNA Electronics sponsors Bioengineering scholarship
DNA Electronics Ltd is pleased to announce it will be awarding a scholarship for study for the MEng degree at Imperial College London. The recipient will have been accepted for the degree course in the Department of Bioengineering and will select their project options in conjunction with the Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology and their industrial sponsor.
DNA Electronics Ltd is a spin-out company from the Centre of Bio-Inspired Technology in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial and founded by its Director, Professor Chris Toumazou FRS, FREng. Professor Toumazou said ‘I am delighted that DNA Electronics is able to support a student in this way enabling a young person from overseas to take advantage of the excellent education and learning experience which Imperial College London provides. It is appropriate that the scholarship will be held in the Department of Bioengineering which is still a new discipline and enables students to understand how engineering platform technologies can be applied, and inspired by, biology. The Department, in conjunction with the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, is pursuing research which is innovating the applications of technology in the modern world increasingly in healthcare.’
It is in the field of biomedical engineering that Professor Toumazou’s companies have been so successful. DNA Electronics Ltd is applying the technology of the silicon transistor to next-generation DNA sequencing and diagnostics platforms which enable better understanding about an individual’s response to disease and therapy.
Mar 19, 2012DNA Electronics and geneOnyx announce licensing and supply agreement for cosmetics
Following a successful evaluation of the DNA Electronics USB-based Genalysis® platform, DNA Electronics and geneOnyx are announcing a commercial license and supply agreement that grants geneOnyx access to DNA Electronics’ real-time Genalysis® platform for cosmetic applications. This agreement will deliver the world’s first commercial on-site sample-to-answer, easy-to-use and low-cost DNA testing platform – bringing on-site, over-the-counter services to the retail industry for the first time.
DNA Electronics’ Genalysis® is a real-time platform for nucleic acid testing, delivering accurate, point-of-need results within 30 minutes using just a simple sample processing kit and interchangeable test cartridges plugged into a USB stick or other electronic reader. The Genalysis® platform enables truly user-friendly, rapid, lab-free and pipette-free DNA analysis products for a variety of medical and consumer applications. While this licensing and supply agreement launches DNA Electronics into its first non-IVD market for test panels selected by geneOnyx, pilot trials for clinical diagnostics using Genalysis® will also begin later this year.
The Genalysis® platform processes a saliva sample from a mouth swab using a sample preparation kit designed for unskilled users which delivers purified, amplification-ready DNA to the CMOS-based test cartridge using just a couple of simple manual steps. The test cartridge then simultaneously amplifies and detects genetic signatures in the DNA when plugged into a USB stick or other electronic device. The simple three-step Genalysis® process of “swab, twist, test” was designed by DNA Electronics to overcome the fact that most nucleic acid tests, even those described as point-of-care, still require laboratory steps such as pipetting and centrifugation, and use expensive instrumentation.
Jan 24, 2012DNAe presents Genalysis® USB at Personalized Medicine World Conference 2012
DNA Electronics unveiled its Genalysis® point of care technology at the Personalized Medicine World Conference 2012 in Silicon Valley. DNAe’s Yan Lin Lye shows the technology for sample-to-answer genotyping in under 30 minutes using just our Sample Preparation Kit and USB-stick based analyser.
2011
Oct 29, 2011DNA Electronics at TEDMED 2011
Jul 05, 2011Pilot study success for Genalysis® SNP test
A version of DNA Electronics Ltd’s Genalysis® platform, known as the “SNP-DR”, performed well in a collaborative R&D programme part-funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board. The goal of the project was to take DNA Electronics’ technology for pH-based, label-free detection of DNA and demonstrate a portable DNA detection platform in standard CMOS semiconductor technology. The two-year, £1.2 million project culminated in a pilot study in which DNA Electronics tested the SNP DR detection module using samples that had been genotyped by Pfizer in a reference lab. The device correctly called 100% of samples tested blindly using the SNP DR prototype. The company is now progressing towards making the technology totally lab-free.
For full details, see the Imperial College news release.
2010
Nov 25, 2010DNA Electronics scores hat-trick at the IET Awards
DNA Electronics has been awarded three Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation Awards, winning the Electronics, Emerging Technologies and Healthcare categories at last night’s awards ceremony.
The IET Innovation Awards recognise the most innovative international companies operating within a wide variety of engineering and technology disciplines, with 15 categories including asset management, transport, telecommunications and product design.
Upon receiving three of the awards, a first according to IET event organisers, CEO Professor Chris Toumazou commented “We are really proud that an independent panel of expert judges has recognised the potential and interdisciplinarity of our innovation and hope that it will help to transform the healthcare and life sciences industries in the upcoming years.”
Details of the Award categories and photographs from the ceremony can be found on the IET Innovation Awards website.
Nov 10, 2010Key international patents granted in US, China and Europe
DNA Electronics Ltd announced today the company has been awarded three key patents for semiconductor-based nucleotide detection. These latest patent allowances in the United States, China and Europe build upon DNA Electronics’ strong semiconductor IP portfolio, relevant parts of which have been licensed non-exclusively to Roche and Life Technologies in recent months.
Nov 01, 2010DNA Electronics partners with Roche on semiconductor sequencing
DNA Electronics, a fabless semiconductor provider of solutions for real-time DNA and RNA analysis, announced today that it has entered a partnership with 454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company. The collaboration will focus on the development of a low-cost, high-throughput, long read, high density DNA sequencing system. As part of the agreement, DNA Electronics has signed a non-exclusive licence to provide relevant IP from its proprietary semiconductor technology portfolio to Roche. This technology which enables sensitive detection of nucleotide incorporation during sequencing will build on 454 Life Sciences’ current pyrosequencing-based platform. The collaboration leverages DNA Electronics’ unique knowledge of semiconductor design and expertise in pH-mediated detection of nucleotide insertions with 454 Life Sciences’ long read sequencing chemistry to produce a seamless evolution from optical detection to low-cost, highly scalable electrochemical detection.
Sep 16, 2010DNA Electronics is named winner in e-Legacy Awards
DNA Electronics Ltd. has been named as the winner of the “Medical Advances” prize at the 2010 e-Legacy Awards. DNA Electronics topped the online voting by Electronic Product Design magazine readers and electronic design industry peers to be named winner in recognition of its scalable semiconductor solutions for real-time nucleic acid detection, which enable faster, simpler and more cost-effective DNA analysis platforms.
The annual e-Legacy awards, launched by Electronic Product Design magazine in 2007, honour the most notable exponents of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the electronics industry. The seven award categories are designed to shine a spotlight on the products, projects and services that are contributing to the common good, and demonstrating corporate responsibility, investment in the future and an innovative approach to harnessing talent in electronics.
Aug 03, 2010DNA Electronics and Ion Torrent sign License Agreement
DNA Electronics Ltd, an innovator of semiconductor solutions for healthcare, announced today that it has signed a non-exclusive, worldwide license agreement to provide Ion Torrent, the semiconductor sequencing company, access to DNA Electronics’ intellectual property.
On the announcement of the license agreement, DNA Electronics Founder and CEO Prof Chris Toumazou FRS commented, “I am delighted that Ion Torrent is pioneering semiconductor sequencing, and I believe this will bring about a new semiconductor revolution in the Life Sciences and Healthcare industries.”
2009
Dec 01, 2009European Electronics Industry Award for DNA Electronics
At the Elektra Awards Ceremony on 1st December, it was announced that DNA Electronics was the winner of the Elektra09 European Electronics Industry Award in the Research and Development category. DNA Electronics was selected as the winner of this prestigious award by an independent panel of judges, in recognition of its breakthrough ‘SNP Dr’ real time gene testing innovation and intellectual property strategy. Other finalists in the R&D category included ARM, Qualcomm and Imagination Technologies.
Nov 27, 2009DNA Electronics wins BBC Focus Award 2009
In a competition to recognise the best of Britain’s talent for innovation and creativity, BBC Focus Magazine, a publication specialising in science and technology, selected the DNA Electronics SNP-Dr as one of the best British inventions for 2009. The judging panel, which included Sir James Dyson and Richard Noble, selected the British innovations they believed would have the biggest impact on the world in the next few years.
DNA Electronics SNP-Dr (‘snip doctor’), is a breakthrough silicon chip based handheld device that offers fast and accurate spot test results for specific DNA sequences called Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) which indicate how patients are likely to respond to prescription drugs. The device will help doctors to improve the safety and efficacy of medication by tailoring drug prescription and dose to their patients individual genetic make-up. The device is currently being validated in partnership with global pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
Sep 09, 2009Chairman and CEO Prof Chris Toumazou FRS wins World Technology Award
DNA Electronics CEO and Chairman Prof Chris Toumazou FRS has won the World Technology Award for Health and Medicine.
Other winners (in other categories) included Amazon (for the Kindle Reader), Facebook (2 awards), YouTube, and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda for Policy. The award was presented by the CNN Chief Business Correspondant Ali Velshi at The World Technology Summit & Awards 2009, sponsored by TIME, FORTUNE, SCIENCE, CNN, NASDAQ and AAAS, amongst others.
Jul 14, 2009UK Prime Minister visits DNA Electronics
DNA Electronics Ltd has been showcased as an exemplary healthcare technology innovator at the launch of the Government’s Life Sciences Blueprint – a range of initiatives aimed at ensuring the UK remains a world-leading location to build and grow life science and biotechnology companies.
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined UK Minister for Science and Innovation Lord Drayson, First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills Lord Mandelson, and Health Minister Lord Darzi for the launch of the report. Download pdf to read more. Link to Photos
Feb 16, 2009DNAe leading R&D project w/Imperial College and Pfizer
A handheld device to predict whether patients will respond adversely to medication is one step closer to the market, thanks to a new partnership announced today.
DNA Electronics is leading a collaborative R&D project with Imperial College and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, part-funded by a grant awarded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board.
For full details, see the Imperial College news release.
2008
Jan 24, 2008Ultra low power circuit patent granted
The UK Intellectual Property Office has today advised that DNA Electronics will be granted a patent for its low-power chip-based sensor interfaces on 20 February 2008. This is the second patent in ultra-low power electronic circuits to be secured by DNA Electronics, building upon existing protection secured in the United States and Europe. The company has also been granted international patents in the core Genalysis™ detection platform, a novel combination of silicon chip sensors and biochemistry on a disposable chip, harnessing the economies of scale of silicon manufacturing for genetic testing. DNA Electronics is continuing to invest in its growing intellectual property portfolio to secure protection and manoeuvrability in the major global markets.
2007
Dec 04, 2007International patents granted for core technology
DNA Electronics has secured a patent in Japan for the silicon-chip based genetic sensing technique at the core of the Genalysis™ detection platform. The acceptance of this latest patent adds to the existing protection achieved in the UK and complements the global intellectual property portfolio that DNA Electronics has built up to give it freedom to operate internationally in point-of-care molecular diagnostics.
Jul 09, 2007Her Majesty The Queen opens Institute of Biomedical Engineering
Accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen opened the Institute, home to DNA Electronics’ research labs, as part of her visit to celebrate the Centenary of Imperial’s foundation on 8 July 1907. The royal party, which also includes Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned of Qatar, were hosted by Director of the Institute Professor Chris Toumazou.
The Queen told invited guests gathered at the college: “Imperial was founded with the intentions that it should support British technology and industry in the face of international competition. You have certainly fulfilled that aspiration. Today, you renew your mission of applying your learning, discoveries and innovation to meet the changing needs of society, industry and healthcare.”
Her Majesty was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh as she was taken on a tour of the Institute by its Director, Professor Chris Toumazou. The royal party were taken to the robotic surgery suite and personalised healthcare laboratories, where they were given a demonstration of DNA Electronics’ lab-on-a-chip technology for real-time genetic testing.
Jun 11, 2007Prince Andrew The Duke of York visits DNA Electronics
Prince Andrew The Duke of York, in his role as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, spent time at DNAe’s research and development laboratories as part of a visit to the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London. His Royal Highness was given a demonstration of the company’s SNP-on-a-chip technology platform by Commercial Director Leila Shepherd and was escorted by Director and Chief Scientist of the Institute, Professor Chris Toumazou and the Rector of Imperial College, Sir Richard Sykes.