RainDance Technologies,
Inc., a provider of innovative microdroplet-based solutions for human health
and disease research, today announced it has received the first European order
for its Sequence Enrichment Solution from ATLAS Biolabs GmbH of Berlin, Germany,
a leading genomic services provider.
In an announcement at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) Conference
2009, the company said ATLAS Biolabs’ purchase includes the RDT 1000 system,
PCR primer libraries, consumables kits, and training services.
“ATLAS Biolabs is a renowned genomic services provider with an esteemed
scientific team that is highly respected in the European research community,”
said Christopher McNary, President and Chief Executive Officer, RainDance Technologies.
“We look forward to supporting their requirements with a solution that
can dramatically enhance their genomic research services portfolio.”
McNary said the sale represents a key addition to the company’s global
service provider network. “With our Sequence Enrichment Solution in place
at ATLAS Biolabs, European researchers will have immediate access to our technology.
It will enable scientists to perform high-resolution analysis of genetic variation
between individuals within populations at a level unmatched by current methodologies,”
he said.
“Our customers now are exploring the contribution of rare variants in
their study of disease and are adopting targeted genomic sequencing methods
to study large populations in this context. RainDance’s massively parallel
microdroplet PCR-based solution for sequence enrichment is superior to all others
available in the market because it is less prone to the selection bias associated
with targeted sequencing,” said Dr. Peter Nürnberg, Co-Founder and
Chief Executive Officer, ATLAS Biolabs. “Using the RainDance technology,
we can amplify up to 4000 amplicons in a single PCR process with essentially
no allelic amplification bias and a near 100% success rate of PCR primer pairs.”
Nürnberg said ATLAS Biolabs is discussing the RainDance Sequence Enrichment
Solution with key customers and will invite them to perform proof-of-principle
experiments once the instrument is installed. “We are pleased to be the
first in Europe to offer this innovative approach and will work with RainDance
to explore additional applications for their promising new technology.”
RainDance will immediately begin designing custom DNA primer libraries for
ATLAS Biolabs’ customers and anticipates shipping the RDT 1000 system
by July 2009.
“The first sale of our Sequence Enrichment Solution in Europe is a major
step in our company’s growth,” said McNary. “Our technology
is generating considerable interest in the region, and we anticipate announcing
additional sales to leading European genomic and medical research centers in
the coming weeks.”
For sales information, contact Patrick Kelly, Director of Sales – European
Region, RainDance Technologies, at kellyp@raindancetech.com or +44-786-3200-242.