Oxford Nanopore to Commercialise DNA Strand Sequencing

IP Group plc, a developer of intellectual property based businesses, is pleased to note that portfolio company Oxford
Nanopore Technologies Ltd has outlined its novel DNA 'strand sequencing' method on its GridION platform for the first time and has also presented a sequencer the size of a USB memory stick that is expected to retail at less than $900. The company’s MinION device, a miniaturised version of its GridION technology platform, is a disposable DNA sequencing device designed to make DNA sequencing universally accessible.

Oxford Nanopore is a spin-out company from the University of Oxford in which IP Group has a 21.5% undiluted beneficial stake; it intends to commercialise both GridION and MinION directly to customers within 2012. The announcement was timed to coincide with Oxford Nanopore’s presentation at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology Conference (AGBT), held last month in Florida, US.

Alan Aubrey, CEO of IP Group plc, said it was a “pivotal moment for both Oxford Nanopore and IP Group. The  ignificance of this technology introduction is, in computing terms, analogous to moving from the mainframe to the laptop.

"Oxford Nanopore's technology platform is truly disruptive and  game-changing and is poised to deliver new applications and general benefits to science and medicine. Potential applications including screening genetic material, prenatal screening for genetic defects and diagnostic tests aimed at identifying genetic mutations that have applicability in agricultural, environmental and medical markets."