Jan. 15, 2004 — A next-generation biotech instrument maker with ties to Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has launched in the United States, according to a news release.

WaferGen Inc., based in Fremont, Calif., seeks to replace microplates and biochips with smart silicon devices to boost sensitivity and efficiency in data collection and analysis in biological tests. WaferGen’s K2 platform integrates advanced electronics into each well of a microfabricated silicon wafer, and the wells contain their own heating and cooling systems that can start and stop reactions and provide information about temperature.

The company has shown an early version of its K2 platform to customers, and it plans to target the high-throughput screening and cell-based assay markets.

WaferGen has signed an exclusive agreement with Delft’s Center for Intelligent Molecular Diagnostic Systems, which includes licensing the center’s intellectual property for the K2 platform. Delft also will take an equity position in the firm and several of its researchers will become advisers.