Spin out launched to harness synthetic biology
31 Aug 2016 by Evoluted New Media
A new development in DNA synthesis has led to the creation of a spin out based at the Cambridge Science Park.
A new development in DNA synthesis has led to the creation of a spin out based at the Cambridge Science Park.
Evonetix, a spin out from Cambridge Consultants, is focusing on producing DNA with a very high accuracy percentage. DNA of a high quality is essential for enabling synthetic biology techniques that can create breakthroughs in personalised medicine. In nature, the error rate when producing DNA is less than one in a billion.
Nick McCooke, CEO of Evonetix, said: “We are applying an engineering approach to biology, using our multidisciplinary skills to take new technology and apply it in the real world. Combined with our commercial expertise, it means we are uniquely placed to take this radical new idea to market.”
Accurate DNA synthesis is very important at various stages of developing drugs. It enables the understanding of the precise mechanisms of a disease, as well as how a drug would interact with it, by enabling test cells to be accurately altered. It allows cells to be engineered so they can produce specific biopharmaceuticals as well as enabling precise cell based screening assays to be designed.
Ray Edgson, ventures director at Cambridge Consultants, said: “We have a track record of creating spin-outs that change market dynamics and disrupt whole industries. With Evonetix, we are now poised to transform the synthetic biology industry.”
Cambridge Consultants have created more than 20 spin outs, most notably CSR, Xaar, Vectura and Domino Printing Sciences. The spin out is being supported by Hermann Hauser, who was responsible for spinning out ARM from Acorn Computers in 1990. He also helped start Solexa, a next generation DNA sequencing technology company that was later acquired by Illumina.
