A democratized platform for mapping the spatial epigenome in tissue

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PROJECT SUMMARY AtlasXomics Inc. is commercializing the next generation of spatial biology tools to help researchers understand the epigenetic mechanisms of disease. The goal of this SBIR grant is to commercialize a product suite of hardware, consumables, and software to spatially interrogate tissue and generate a new layer of data for better understanding gene expression modulation in tissue. The development of novel research tools is critical to address the significant healthcare burden posed by cancer and cardiovascular disease. Epigenetic dysregulation plays a significant role in disease development and response to therapy, but current technologies are inadequate for capturing epigenetic changes in interacting cell populations. AtlasXomics developed and established proof-of-concept performance of the spatial ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin) assay. In the Phase I, AtlasXomics successfully transferred the academic protocol into a commercial workflow and met industry standards for ATAC-seq quality in mouse and human cancer tissues. The Company introduced the first commercial epigenomics assay to the market in June 2022. In this proposed Phase II, the Company will increase the price performance of the assay to address feedback from customers and prospects: cover a larger area of tissue, increase cellular resolution, and establish a user-friendly, interactive data analysis suite that enables researchers to seamlessly analyze data. The product of this SBIR will be an all-in-one kit that integrates a suite of hardware, consumables, and bioinformatics tools to enable scientists to explore the epigenetic dimension of disease pathology., e.g., characterize tumor and immune cells spatially in the tissue microenvironment. The product will democratize broad adoption of the spatial epigenomics platform because it does not require costly custom equipment and the proposed bioinformatics workflow will also simplify the analysis of the large epigenomics datasets generated by the assay. This product will help scientists to gain biological insight into the spatial epigenetic mechanisms that drive disease progression and therapy response.