Search

Bionano Genomics to acquire Purigen Biosystems to enable further simplified and accelerated DNA isolation for optical genome mapping (OGM) and address difficult sample types in new applications with isotachophoresis (ITP) on the ionic purification system

  • Acquisition adds isotachophoresis (ITP), a proprietary technology licensed exclusively from Stanford University and developed by Purigen Biosystems for isolation and purification of nucleic acids, to the arsenal of tools for potentially simplifying ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) DNA isolation and purification for optical genome mapping (OGM) with more consistency at scale
  • Adds the Ionic® Purification System, a commercially available platform for isolation of DNA and RNA from complex biological samples including those with low cell counts or otherwise challenging types such as formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue, to Bionano’s portfolio of products
  • Adds a world-class team with strong experience in developing, commercializing and supporting ITP-based systems for isolation and purification of biomolecules from a wide variety of sample types

Bionano Genomics announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Purigen Biosystems, (Purigen), a company that develops and commercializes automated nucleic acid extraction and purification solutions using proprietary isotachophoresis (ITP) technology, which was licensed exclusively from Stanford and developed by Purigen. Purigen’s ITP technology is a solution-based purification approach and therefore different from protocols in routine use, which tend to rely on binding to a matrix, washing and then removal from the matrix. Those protocols are less efficient at capturing molecules from dilute solutions or from samples with small amounts of cells and often result in shorter average lengths of DNA than what optical genome mapping (OGM) requires. The transaction is expected to accelerate the adoption of OGM due to anticipated improvements in its ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) DNA sample preparation workflow.

“Bionano continuously seeks to enhance its technology portfolio with the goal of making OGM even more powerful and accessible. Announcement of the proposed acquisition of Purigen is another step towards that goal. Over the past decade, we believe Purigen’s talented team has developed best-in-class solutions for automated DNA and RNA extraction from complex samples. We are thrilled to welcome the Purigen team to Bionano and look forward to working together to transform the way the world sees the genome,” said Erik Holmlin, PhD, president and chief executive officer of Bionano Genomics. “We believe the addition of the Ionic Purification System, its ITP technology and the Purigen team can enable Bionano to further simplify and streamline the process of DNA isolation for OGM and may also enable new applications for more sample types where low concentrations and small quantities of cells and the UHMW DNA they contain have proven to be challenging for our current solutions.”

Strategic Benefits of the Transaction

  • Expands Bionano’s Sample Prep Portfolio Capabilities Toward Creating an End-to-End Solution for OGM that May Accelerate Adoption of OGM by Further Simplifying the DNA Isolation Workflow

    • Incorporating ITP is expected to enable Bionano to tackle a number of sample types that are commonly used throughout cancer research, genetic disease and other areas of discovery research and cell bioprocessing
    • This proposed acquisition follows an extensive co-development program in which the Purigen team demonstrated the feasibility of isolating UHMW DNA on the Ionic system. Bionano plans to incorporate Purigen’s ITP-based methods into the OGM workflow of Bionano’s Saphyr® system, which could potentially further simplify UHMW DNA purification, thus making it faster and providing reliability at scale that would be beneficial for routine use in a commercial setting
    • Along with prior acquisitions of Lineagen and BioDiscovery, this acquisition furthers Bionano’s goal of adding solutions from sample to answer to create an end-to-end solution for the adoption of OGM
    • This proposed acquisition complements Bionano’s co-development partnership with Hamilton, which has developed a solution for the automation of Bionano’s current isolation chemistry, by enabling Bionano to address more challenging sample types and samples with limited quantities of cells

Transaction Details

Bionano’s transaction consideration will be up to $64 million, including $32 million cash paid at closing subject to adjustment for, among other things, cash, unpaid indebtedness, unpaid transaction expenses and net working capital relative to a specified target. The remainder of the consideration is contingent on the achievement of certain milestones. The acquisition is expected to close on or before December 8, 2022. Cowen and Company L.L.C. served as exclusive financial advisor to Bionano on this transaction.

up