Sage Science Receives $1.8M NHGRI Grant to Automate Targeted DNA Capture

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2019--

Sage Science, a developer of products for improving sample preparation processes in life science applications, today announced the award of a $1.8 million grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. The grant funds a two-year program to develop and commercialize a fully automated platform for the company’s HLS-CATCH targeted DNA sample preparation process, which is designed to analyze genomic regions that cannot be captured with conventional tools.

The HLS-CATCH method, which is currently available as a manual technique with the SageHLS system, makes it possible to analyze complex genomic phenomena such as disease-causing repeat elements or structural variations using routine sequencing technologies. With this method, researchers have already sequenced a number of important genes, including PKD1, BRCA1/2, MAPT, and MHC.

“This NHGRI award underscores the need for innovative approaches for targeted capture of large genomic regions, and we are eager to address that with the development of an automated process for the HLS-CATCH method,” said Todd Barbera, Chief Executive Officer of Sage Science. “Using Cas9 to cut at specific sequences provides the flexibility to home in on the remaining dark areas of the genome, many of which are associated with disease. We believe that we can provide a cost-effective DNA sequencing strategy to study genes that cannot be analyzed by current target enrichment methods or by whole genome sequencing.”

The HLS-CATCH method uses electrophoresis to extract DNA from cells into a gel matrix. The gel-embedded DNA is cleaved at specific genomic sites using Cas9 nuclease with guideRNAs, and large, intact DNA targets (100 kilobases to 1 megabase) are then purified and collected.

For more information about the HLS-CATCH method, please visit: http://www.sagescience.com/catch1-sagehls2/

About Sage Science

Sage Science is a privately held company based in Beverly, Mass., that develops life sciences products to ease the burden and improve the quality of DNA preparation processes next gen sequencing. Sage Science products are built on the idea that science is more robust and reliable when it is based on high-precision, automated, reproducible technology instead of manually intensive steps that introduce variability and error.

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CONTACT: Alex Vira

Director of Marketing, Sage Science

+1.978.522.6281

alex.vira@sagescience.com

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA MASSACHUSETTS

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH BIOTECHNOLOGY GENETICS MEDICAL DEVICES

SOURCE: Sage Science

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PUB: 05/21/2019 07:30 AM/DISC: 05/21/2019 07:30 AM

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