RainDance Technologies (RDT) pioneered the use of micron-sized droplets to encapsulate chemical and biological samples on a microfluidic chip, making each droplet the equivalent of a well in a microtiter plate. Processing samples at 10,000 droplets per second, this technology platform delivers significantly faster, cheaper and more accurate analysis than a host of common life science tools, including microarrays, thermal cyclers, robotic screening platforms, and flow cytometers. Dozens of current generic and specialized genomic, drug discovery, diagnostic and industrial applications can be ported over to RDT’s Professional Laboratory System (PLS), that can be configured using inexpensive chips to replace a range of fluid handling and analytical chemistry instruments. RDT’s platform can also perform a variety of unique applications, such as detecting very low copy number cancer cells. RDT will generate revenue from three sources: (1) Sales of the PLS and disposables, (2) “RDT Inside”—sales of private-labeled specialty instruments that incorporate NanoReactor technology, and (3) collaborations for the development of specific applications.
Life Sciences Research
RDT’s technology can be used all along the drug discovery and development value chain from primary screening to formulation support to low reagent ADMET testing. The Professional Laboratory System™ is a benchtop system for fluid handling that automates data-rich assay and screening protocols for academic laboratories and corporate research centers. The PLS enables complex, combination and pair-wise screens of large compound and cell libraries that are not feasible using conventional equipment. Moving protocols for enzyme and antibody engineering and RNAi screening from robotic equipment to the PLS platform will quickly demonstrate the benefits of replacing thousands of microtiter plates with millions of microdroplets on a single NanoReactor chip for many fluidics applications.
Enzymes / Microorganisms for Industrial Production (Biofuels)
RDT’s technology is able to perform enzyme / microorganism evolution orders of magnitude faster and more efficiently than existing technology for customers working with carbohydrase enzymes, protease enzymes, and other enzymes in market segments that include pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cleaning products and biofuel markets. The PLS prepares thousands of uniquely formulated droplets per second, in which researchers can optimize operating conditions and performance of enzyme candidates that can be optimized to provide the desired performance. The PLS will improve the efficiency of enzyme evolution by increasing the throughput of proven, highly accurate assay techniques. A focus of RDT’s industrial enzyme market development will be in the area of biomass conversion to cost-effective biofuels.
Cancer Diagnosis / Detection for Residual Disease
Detection of minute quantities of cancer cells in the bloodstream (i.e. cancer residual disease) is extremely challenging. Detection today is done using cytometers and CT scans which require many orders of magnitude of malignant cells to be present. This poses two problems for oncologists: determination of cancer recurrence until it is relatively advanced; and determination of when sufficient chemotherapy cycles have been given to ensure that treatment has been more than adequate. RDT’s technology has the potential to specifically identify cancer markers present in very low copy numbers on the surface of single cancer cells with high sensitivity and specificity enabling the detection of residual disease. RDT has the potential to address a $1 billion market and to significantly improve cancer treatment.
