Tests will identify genetic alterations that can be used to measure meat quality, characteristics of seedlings and plants, or pesticide resistance of disease-transmitting mosquitoes (image: release)
Tests will identify genetic alterations that can be used to measure meat quality, characteristics of seedlings and plants, or pesticide resistance of disease-transmitting mosquitoes.
Tests will identify genetic alterations that can be used to measure meat quality, characteristics of seedlings and plants, or pesticide resistance of disease-transmitting mosquitoes.
Tests will identify genetic alterations that can be used to measure meat quality, characteristics of seedlings and plants, or pesticide resistance of disease-transmitting mosquitoes (image: release)
FAPESP Research for Innovation – Scheme Lab, a biotech startup incubated at the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Technology (CIETEC), in São Paulo, Brazil, is developing genetic tests that can be used anywhere – in factories, on farms or even at home – without the need for analysis by specialized laboratories.
These “point-of-care type” tests will identify genetic alterations that can be used to measure meat quality, the characteristics of seedlings and plants, or the resistance of disease-transmitting mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti, to pesticides used against them.
“We’re at the prototype stage,” says biologist John Katz, a US citizen who before becoming an entrepreneur, earned a PhD from the University of Chicago, pursued postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School, and worked as a patent agent at the US law firm Finnegan Henderson.
Katz arrived in Brazil in 2004. For years, he held jobs related to new drug development and biodiversity at firms such as COINFAR, a joint venture between Aché, Biolab and União Química. “Then, I decided to become an entrepreneur in Brazil,” he says.
Before making the decision, he consulted his network of contacts in the US. “Their view was that every country has its advantages and that Brazil had significant potential in biotech, as well as offering resources to support startups,” he adds.
The firm submitted a proposal to FAPESP’s Innovative Research in Small Business Program (PIPE) and received approval in late 2012. The idea was to develop a new diagnostic device that could rapidly and simply detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), a type of DNA sequence variation that accounts for over 90% of genetic variation in humans. “Many SNPs are associated with diseases and physical traits,” Katz says. SNP detection tests can be used in people, animals and plants to identify diseases, physical traits and even individuals.
This kind of diagnosis is usually performed by clinical laboratories, “provided they have complex devices like PCR thermocyclers, DNA sequencers or microarrays” operated by trained personnel, he notes. The product developed by the firm, Simple SNP, uses an innovative technology that makes complex equipment unnecessary, according to Katz.
In the first phase of the project, Scheme Lab focused on developing a prototype. This prototype was a simple portable kit that used saliva to produce a colored result visible to the naked eye for detecting DNA sequences associated with eye color (blue, brown or both). The prototype was optimized, and the main technology plus enhancements were patented by the firm.
Having tested the technology and its application, the firm began looking at other markets. “The test platform can be used for any kind of genetic sequencing,” says Katz. “We decided to switch focus to the corporate sector and invest in custom tests.”
In phase 2 of PIPE, which now had this new market perspective, Scheme Lab developed two new versions of the prototype, one in collaboration with a leading Brazilian agribusiness firm. “This firm produces plants and seeks varieties with superior physical characteristics, many of which are associated with SNP-type DNA sequences. The test will help identify plants on the client’s own production premises,” Katz explains.
In phase 3 of PIPE, currently in progress, the firm is developing prototypes to produce a genetic test for use in agriculture and food. “One of our targets is the meat market, and the focus is on livestock breeders or meat packers,” Katz says.
Point-of-care molecular diagnosis is a new area in the marketplace. “We’re looking for partners and we’ve already talked to about 12 potential clients interested in having custom tests to diagnose genetic traits in agriculture, food and healthcare, among others,” Katz says.
Scheme Lab
Site: schemelab.com
Address: Avenida Prof. Lineu Prestes, 2242, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo (SP), Brazil
Tel.: +55 11 3039 8419
Contact: email@schemelab.com
The Agency FAPESP licenses news via Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-ND) so that they can be republished free of charge and in a simple way by other digital or printed vehicles. Agência FAPESP must be credited as the source of the content being republished and the name of the reporter (if any) must be attributed. Using the HMTL button below allows compliance with these rules, detailed in Digital Republishing Policy FAPESP.