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Executive Summary
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Executive Summary
February 2013
The availability to customize genes to develop new drugs, chemicals and other high value
products, is crucial to the rapidly-expanding biotechnology industry. Unfortunately, current options
for gene assembly are either slow or unreliable. Desktop Genetics was founded by biochemists and
engineers from the University of Cambridge (UK) who personally experienced the frustration and
delays in gene assembly. We are developing new software and lab equipment to empower our
customers in the biotechnology industry with rapid, accurate, and reliable gene assembly.
AutoClone
We have translated expert gene assembly know-how into a unique software product
that can guide even novice biochemists to cheaply and reliably build almost any
gene, plasmid, or chromosome. With Desktop Genetics’ AutoClone software, new
pharma product developers, academic researchers and even students, can start
building genes without special training or skills, in seconds instead of hours. Our
software slashes design time per gene compared to current options.
SynthBot
AutoClone also acts as the “brains” of the SynthBot device – the world’s first fully
automated gene assembly robot that will provide turnkey, customized gene
prototyping at a cost that even small labs and companies can afford. Our integrated
“load and go” device will make gene assembly automatic, reliable and reproducible.
The Unreliability of Current Gene Assembly Options
Today’s gene assembly options are neither quick nor reliable:
1. Manual, in-house DNA assembly, while usually faster (one week) than out-sourcing, is labour
intensive and error-prone, with success rates as low as 15%;
2. Outsourced services (gene foundries), while less error-prone, are expensive (£1,000+ per
gene), have long turn-around times (4-6 weeks), and can still produce failed gene constructs.
Yet demand for synthetic genes is so high that researchers continue to tolerate this lack of
reliability. The gene supply market is thus ripe for our disruptive technology: a unique software
and hardware product developed to allow easy gene printing on demand.
AutoClone – Gene Assembly Expertise in a Box
Desktop Genetics’ AutoClone software has several unique advantages:
1. Eliminates
complexity:
AutoClone users don’t need to define numerous gene or reaction parameters, or
have any advanced training whatsoever. Within a minute, AutoClone can generate
an optimal and robust building strategy for any gene, saving users hours of time.
2. Reduces
waste:
The AutoClone system sets up a DNA inventory that “knows” if a desired gene has
been made previously, either in full or in part, elsewhere in the customer’s
organization. If a sequence has been made before, it is recycled from the
inventory, thus dramatically reducing the cost of the assembled gene.
3. Eradicates
errors:
AutoClone’s proprietary methodology produces cloning strategies, which are over
100 times more robust than manual processes, because its “recipes” minimize the
use of highly error-prone (and expensive) synthetic oligonucleotides (the greatest
source of non-user error in gene assembly).
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The SynthBot - The Fully Automated Gene Prototyping Robot
Complementary to AutoClone, we are developing the SynthBot, an affordable self-programming
laboratory robot that life scientists will use to rapidly assemble synthetic genes for downstream
testing. The SynthBot combines the reliability of an automated process with in-house convenience,
allowing users to input any desired gene sequence and begin producing it onsite within the hour,
with a turnaround time of less than one week and over a 95% success rate. Our SynthBot will be
the best-in-class solution:
Table 1 - Desktop Genetics surpasses the competition
Manual
Outsourced
SynthBot
Accuracy1
15%
99%
>95%
Turnaround Time
6 days
45 days
5 days
Total Cost
£865
£2,276
£407
1 – average error over 100 genes
(data for goal fragment 8kbp long with two 2kbp inserts)
Laboratories with a SynthBot will be able to build, test, and prepare a patent filing on a new gene
before their competition will even receive their gene order from an outside gene foundry.
Customers and Markets
Last year over 300,000 industrial, academic and commercial life science labs created over 1.1
million genes - an annual specific addressable market of £650 million that is growing by 10% per
year. 90% of synthetic genes today are assembled manually in-house, proof that users prioritise
turnaround time and convenience over cost.
Business Model and Development Timeline
▪ 2013 - Sales of AutoClone software – per user per month site license, plus installation,
customization, and support services;
▪ 2014 - Recurring sales of the proprietary, single-use reagent cartridges to AutoClone users;
▪ 2015 - Sales and leases of the SynthBot, plus recurring sales of single use cartridges,
consumables, maintenance, and support; on-going AutoClone software revenue.
Progress to Date and Expected Exit
We are seeking £500,000 in seed funding to launch the AutoClone software and build a prototype
SynthBot, which will integrate the software and robotic hardware, both of which we expect to
accomplish within nine months of receipt of those funds.
To date, we have raised £150,000 from Healthbox and a Technology Strategy Board SMART Grant,
in addition to a monetary prize for the 2012 University of Cambridge Life Sciences Start Up award.
In the six months since we formed the Company, we have developed the beta version of
AutoClone. We are currently testing this beta and protecting the AutoClone intellectual property.
Our plan is to place SynthBots with key opinion leaders to gain traction and market share as
quickly as possible, aiming for an installed base of 800 SynthBots within 36 months of product
launch (Q1 2015), at which point we anticipate an exit to an established lab equipment supplier at
a target of £160M (3X revenue, Q1 2018).
Desktop Genetics Ltd. | International House, 221 Bow Road, London, E3 2SJ, United Kingdom
For more information, contact invest@deskgen.com or visit www.deskgen.com