Intel
has co-led a $100 million investment round that is expected to push
commercial development of a start-up's DNA sequencing platform.
The single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing platform
from four-year-old Pacific Bioscience is
expected to allow for the first time the observation of natural DNA
synthesis by a DNA polymerase as it occurs.
Pacific Bioscience's technology is based on the SMRT chip, which
permits observation of individual fluorophores against a dense
background of labelled nucleotides by maintaining a high
signal-to-noise ratio, and phospholinked nucleotides, which produce
a completely natural DNA strand through what the company describes
as "fast, accurate, and processive" DNA synthesis.
The Menlo Park, California-based company believes SMRT will lead
to a transformation in the field of DNA sequencing that will
facilitate sequencing of individual genomes as part of routine
medical care. Pacific Bioscience has estimated its next-generation
sequencer will be
available as early as 2010 and has
anticipated that by 2013, its technology will be able to sequence a
genome in 15 minutes.
In contrast, the Human Genome Project, funded at many
laboratories around the US by the Department of Energy (DOE) and
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), took some 13 years to
produce only rough drafts for each human chromosome in 2003.
"With the backdrop of a difficult market, we believe that this
substantial investment by our current and new investors validates
the promise of our SMRT technology to change the field of DNA
sequencing and spark a true revolution in medical care," said Hugh
Martin, chairman and CEO of Pacific Biosciences, in a
statement.
"These funds from a combination of key institutional investors
as well as Intel, a world class provider of semiconductor
technology, will enable us to surge forward with an aggressive
development program and stay on track to commercialise our
technology in 2010."
While Intel's latest investments areas include solar module
making and mobile broadband, the company began expressing its
interest in the biochip vertical in 2004 and at that time inked an
agreement to work with Acacia Research's CombiMatrix group on a
platform technology to produce customisable active biochips. Then
in 2006, Intel General Manager
Pat Gelsinger
confirmed the company's interest in biochips,
discussing Intel's work at the single protein level with Electronic
News.
Other industry companies that have shown interest or made
investment in genetics research include IBM, Motorola, and Texas
Instruments.
The Pacific Biosciences series E investment round was co-led by
Intel Capital and Deerfield Capital Management. Other new investors
included Morgan Stanley, Redmile Group, T. Rowe Price, and a large
financial institution that Pacific Biosciences did not name. All
previous investors participated in the financing, including Mohr
Davidow Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Alloy
Ventures, Maverick Capital, AllianceBernstein, DAG Ventures, and
Teachers' Private Capital.
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News - Electronic News