The main focus of the ERC Proof-of-Concept project has been to explore the commercial potential of an innovative new technology called SIMDEQ, for extracting genetic and epigenetic information from nucleic acids (DNA & RNA). One of the key strengths of the SIMDEQ (short for SIngle Molecule Magnetic Detection and Quantification) technology is felt to be its capacity to sequence modified bases on both DNA and RNA. Many of these modified bases have important biological roles in areas such as the epigenetic regulation of gene expression and in nucleic acid repair. Dysregulation of these systems seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of a wide range of diseases, including various cancers and important neurological disorders. However, a full understanding of these biological processes has been slow to emerge due to the extreme challenge of obtaining this information using current technologies. The SIMDEQ technology should remove this barrier, allowing epigenetic research to proceed at a rapidly accelerated pace and opening new markets for innovative diagnostics and monitoring tools.
Through the research conducted under our original DNA Tools ERC grant we have already devised and validated a number of powerful approaches that allow the extraction of novel and valuable information from DNA molecules, including detection of the number, location, and type of epigenetic base-modifications. Although these techniques have demonstrated the potential of SIMDEQ to open up these currently inaccessible areas of important research, planning for the development and commercialisation of this technology was beyond the scope of the original grant, hence the need for this ERC Proof-of-Concept project.
We have now concluded work on this grant, and successfully completed the primary objectives set forth in the original proposal:
1. To perform a competitive analysis in order to build up a detailed picture of the genetic and epigenetic markets at both macroeconomic and micro-economic levels, and understand the needs of future SIMDEQ customers
2. To develop a technical development strategy for commercial implementation of the SIMDEQ technology
3. To better understand the IP landscape and freedom-to-operate (FTO) status of the SIMDEQ approach
4. To build a strong network of contacts among key opinion leaders in the epigenetics field
The outputs from this ERC Proof-of-Concept grant have been invaluable in putting together a solid business plan for a spin-out company, Depixus (formerly PicoSeq), and subsequently successful completion of a seed financing round.
