March 12, 2009
Arcxis Biotechnologies, a privately held biomedical device firm, today announced a strategic partnership and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel to accelerate availability of the Arcxis nucleic acid sample preparation platform and diagnostic consumable product line. In-Q-Tel is the independent strategic investment firm that identifies innovative technology solutions to support the mission of the CIA and the broader U.S. Intelligence Community. This investment is linked to Arcxis’ 2009 funding round led by Claremont Creek Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures and Alafi Capital previously announced, and supports Arcxis’ continued development and commercialization efforts.
“By efficiently extracting, isolating and purifying RNA and DNA from blood, plasma and environmental samples,” said Christine Meda, CEO and President. “Arcxis Biotechnologies’ new platform will insure extremely fast and reproducible results, even in the hands of inexperienced users. This serves not only to reduce experimental errors commonly encountered with other, manual techniques, but improves the quantity and quality of the sample — a key component to results accuracy.”
“Arcxis is an important addition to our strategic investment portfolio,” said Troy M. Pearsall, Executive Vice President of Architecture and Engineering at In-Q-Tel. “The automated extraction of microbial DNA from clinical or environmental samples poses challenges that are unique compared to instances where the target is abundant. Arcxis’ technology promises to mitigate these difficulties, and increase the sensitivity of assays performed in-theater. This robust, rapid DNA extraction technology will be an invaluable solution to the public and private sectors.”
Arcxis will launch a fully automated RNA and DNA sample preparation device to the clinical diagnostic marketplace later this year. This technology capability will eliminate time-consuming sample preparation, as well as provide users a greater volume of purified starting material for demanding analyses, such as organism detection, genotyping, gene expression and PCR. While the device is designed for efficient nucleic acid extraction and purification from blood and plasma, its capabilities makes it ideal for preparation of environmental samples. Arcxis is also developing a complementary probe technology for creating highly sensitive and specific assays.
About Arcxis Biotechnologies
Arcxis Biotechnologies headquartered in Pleasanton, California, is a venture backed company formed to develop disruptive technologies toward superior sample processing and pathogen detection accuracy. The company is developing the Xisyl(TM) workstation, a nucleic acid sample preparation platform, and the BioPhalanx(TM) analysis workstation, a fully automated sample-to-result system for dramatically improved clinical laboratory workflows. For additional information, please visit the company’s website (www.arcxis.com) or call (925) 461-1300.