Oxford Nanopore Technologies in licence agreement with University of California

UK-based Oxford Nanopore Technologies has entered into an exclusive licence agreement to develop nanopore science pioneered at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), in the laboratories of Professors David Deamer and Mark Akeson.

Oxford Nanopore will also fund research in the science of using protein nanopores to analyse DNA molecules. Applications of the platform include single-molecule DNA sequencing and molecular sensing. Advancement of this technology is expected to benefit basic medical research and further the field of personalised medicine.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies recently made an agreement with Harvard University to in-license a broad range of nanopore technologies that included some discoveries from UCSC. The Company also holds agreements with other leading institutions in nanopore science, including the University of Oxford, Texas A&M, the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Oxford Nanopore has also convened a group of the world's leading nanopore researchers to form its Technical Advisory Board. This panel will include:

• The company's founder, Professor Hagan Bayley of the University of Oxford;
• Professors Dan Branton and Jene Golovchenko of Harvard University;
• Professors David Deamer and Mark Akeson of the University of California, Santa Cruz; and
• Professor Amit Meller of Boston University

Together, this group will give the company unparalleled technical expertise in the development of Oxford Nanopore's current and future nanopore sequencing technology. Its first generation of nanopore sequencing, using BASE technology, is poised to be the first label-free DNA sequencing system. By avoiding chemical labels and optical equipment to give a direct electrical readout that identifies DNA bases, a dramatic improvement in sequencing speed and cost would be expected.

"The science of nanopores is complex and challenging. We are very proud to have gathered a world-class panel of experts, from leading institutions in this field," said Dr Gordon Sanghera, ceo of Oxford Nanopore Technologies. "Oxford Nanopore is in a unique position to develop an early-to-market sequencing technology and improved versions in the future. A label-free approach to DNA sequencing would facilitate a transformation in genomics that could be likened to the broadband revolution."