Pioneers in DNA Analysis
Founded in 2005, Nabsys emerged as the very first life science company to call Rhode Island its home. The story of Nabsys began with a merger of two small startups rooted within the Brown University ecosystem. At its core, Nabsys is the torchbearer of electronic genome mapping using solid-state nanodetection, a groundbreaking technology with applications in DNA analysis.
Despite being the smallest state on the US map, Rhode Island is where the American Industrial Revolution was born. From spinning textiles in the first water-powered textile mill to electrophoretically translocating high-molecular weight DNA through nanochannels, Rhode Island is home to bespoke technological innovations, including our high-definition electronic nanodetection technology. And as far as we’re concerned, this is just the beginning.
Unveiling the Power of Positional Sequencing
Nabsys harnessed the potential of solid-state nanodetectors, ushering in an era where single DNA molecules are meticulously analyzed to reveal both their location and identity over vast stretches, introducing a new technology to view genomes as whole using long-range genomic data. Our cutting-edge platform was meticulously designed using electronic nanodetection, as opposed to protein-based nanopores, to establish new benchmarks for accuracy, speed, and scalability. It promises unparalleled advantages for genome structural variation analysis, whole genome mapping, and more.
Our unwavering dedication lies in catalyzing advancements in life sciences and healthcare through the deployment of our pioneering positional sequencing platform. Nabsys was honored to be the recipient of the prestigious “$1,000 Genome” award from the National Human Genome Research Institute, a testament to our electronic approach to DNA sequencing.
A Journey of Innovation, Discovery, and Evolution
Our journey commenced with research and development rooted in Brown University, catalyzed by a grant from the Division of Materials Research at the National Science Foundation. During the height of the early 2000s, when DNA sequencing began to scale and democratize, we began to learn and understand the importance of genome mapping to complement next-generation sequencing data and aid in genome assembly, metagenomics, and more. As time went on and researchers began to truly understand the genetic basis of human disease, the growing need to identify long-range structural variants became crucial. We learned that nanodetection technology was not only better suited for genome mapping due to its ability to accurately measure the distance between DNA locations with high sensitivity, but we discovered that nanodetection outperformed current industry standards for mapping in costs, precision, and scalability. This support enabled the development of the first electronic nanodetection table-top instrument pivotal for genome mapping. Our pursuit of excellence in sequencing technology had begun, laying the foundation for an exciting future.
Today, Nabsys stands at the threshold of a new era in genomics with the introduction of the OhmX platform. This groundbreaking technology empowers us to map human genomes at an unprecedented scale. Building on our expertise, we’re once again setting our sights on the whole-genome mapping market, with a renewed focus on the human genome.
OhmX: Redefining Genome Mapping
Our journey takes a monumental leap forward, thanks to a technical milestone that has increased the throughput of our high-definition genome mapping technology, the OhmX platform, by more than tenfold. This achievement has triggered additional funding from our strategic partner, Hitachi High-Tech. We’re now poised to introduce a revolutionary platform for human whole-genome mapping, starting with an early-access program followed by a full commercial launch in fall of 2023.
Electronic genome mapping, a core tenet of our technology, eliminates the optical component of traditional genome mapping yielding higher resolution due to high-density labeling and high signal-to-noise. Nabsys’s technology can detect structural variants ranging from approximately 300bp in size to large chromosomal rearrangements with read lengths over 100kb.
Patents and Partnerships
Our commitment to innovation extends beyond technology. Nabsys currently boasts 17 patent families, a testament to our pioneering spirit and dedication to advancing genomics. As we embark on this exciting phase, we are proud to have Hitachi High-Tech as a strategic partner, and together, we are charting a path toward a transformative future.
In the ever-evolving landscape of genomics, electronic nanodetection, the cornerstone of Nabsys’s innovations, holds the promise to democratize structural variant analysis and explore more biological data beyond DNA. Using this easily-scalable technology, we hope to improve cost-efficiency and expedite answers for clinicians to help patients around the world. We have built a fundamentally new bioanalytic tool to analyze bioanalytes and our commitment to innovation will fully realize the promise of our technology to discover and address even more applications to improve human health. Our vision extends to unraveling the mysteries of proteins, RNA, and more.
Unlocking the Next Frontier
As we look to the future, Nabsys envisions a world where our technology becomes a catalyst for breakthroughs in diverse areas of biological research. Our journey is just beginning. The possibilities for using semiconductor-based nanochannel detection for biological research is vast, and we’re committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in genomics and life sciences.
Join us on this remarkable journey as we continue to redefine the future of genomics and contribute to a better understanding of life’s most intricate codes.