May 26, 2009: RainDance Technologies Inc., which provides microdroplet-based solutions for human health and disease research, has received the first European order for its Sequence Enrichment Solution from ATLAS Biolabs GmbH of Berlin, a genomic services provider.
In an announcement at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) Conference 2009, the company said ATLAS Biolabs’ purchase includes the RDT 1000 system, PCR primer libraries, consumables kits, and training services.
“ATLAS Biolabs is a renowned genomic services provider with an esteemed scientific team that is highly respected in the European research community,” Christopher McNary, RainDance’s president and CEO said in a prepared statement.
“We look forward to supporting their requirements with a solution that can dramatically enhance their genomic research services portfolio.”
McNary said the sale represents a key addition to the company’s global service provider network.
“With our Sequence Enrichment Solution in place at ATLAS Biolabs, European researchers will have immediate access to our technology. It will enable scientists to perform high-resolution analysis of genetic variation between individuals within populations at a level unmatched by current methodologies,” he said.
“RainDance’s massively parallel microdroplet PCR-based solution for sequence enrichment is superior to all others available in the market because it is less prone to the selection bias associated with targeted sequencing,” said Peter Nürnberg, co-founder and CEO of ATLAS Biolabs. “Using the RainDance technology, we can amplify up to 4,000 amplicons in a single PCR process with essentially no allelic amplification bias and a near 100 percent success rate of PCR primer pairs.”
Nürnberg said ATLAS Biolabs is discussing the RainDance Sequence Enrichment Solution with key customers and will invite them to perform proof-of-principle experiments once the instrument is installed.
“We are pleased to be the first in Europe to offer this innovative approach and will work with RainDance to explore additional applications for their promising new technology.” RainDance will immediately begin designing custom DNA primer libraries for ATLAS Biolabs’ customers and anticipates shipping the RDT 1000 system by July.