Automated surface-bound oligoseed DNA amplification enabling advanced therapies and diagnostics

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Synthetic DNA is a mainstream component for wide-ranging established and emerging industries including cell and gene therapies and molecular diagnostics. The global DNA synthesis market is forecast to reach £3.4bn by 2025, with demand reaching hundreds of kilograms in coming years and vastly outstripping supply. Solid phase phosphoramidite chemistry, the mainstay DNA production method over the past 40 years, suffers from over-dependence on hazardous chemicals, limited accuracy and length, manufacturing delays, expensive shipping, and low yield/quality. High DNA yields largely rely on manufacturing-level scale-up by cloning via plasmid into bacteria, which poses safety concerns and is a costly manufacturing bottleneck. The UK Government Life Sciences Strategy prioritises an escalation in molecular therapeutics and advanced diagnostics development and manufacture, and to build resilience against future pandemics. This will depend on new tools for versatile, low-cost, high yield oligonucleotide synthesis. In the project, Nunabio will apply their multi-patented technology to forge a new improved means of DNA synthesis that will reduce manufacture and shipping delays, increase workflow autonomy and control, reduce solvent usage and contamination, and produce more ready-to-use material, faster and at lower cost. The outputs of the project will help save £583Mn in future industry costs and remove 4.4Mn litres of harmful phosphoramidite synthesis reagents from industrial use by 2029\.