Biosearch Technologies Acquires Majority Stake in LightSpeed Genomics

PETALUMA, CA (Wednesday, September 25, 2013) – Biosearch Technologies, Inc. (Biosearch) is a leading supplier of sophisticated oligonucleotide components to the rapidly growing molecular diagnostics industry. Biosearch has acquired a majority stake in LightSpeed Genomics, Inc. (LSG), a Santa Clara, California-based company developing an innovative optical detection solution for the life science and diagnostics industry based on its proprietary Synthetic Aperture Optics™ (SAO™) technology. Biosearch and LSG are collaborators on the development of StellarVision™, a next generation gene expression platform optimized to work seamlessly with Biosearch’s Stellaris® RNA FISH assays to detect and quantify single molecule RNA targets within individual cells.

“The synergy of Stellaris assays with StellarVision provides a paradigm shift in gene expression analysis,” comments Marc Beal, Director of Corporate Development and Licensing at Biosearch. “Current gene expression systems destroy cellular integrity then rescue messenger RNA with multiple amplification steps to provide an indirect “average” of expression. In contrast, StellarVision directly interrogates single cells, single molecules, and quantifies mRNA, lncRNA and viral RNA while imaging hundreds of cells with statistical significance in a single large field of view.”

LightSpeed’s Synthetic Aperture Optics (SAO) technology is a fundamentally new optical detection paradigm that enables massively parallelized optical detection. The technique combines coherent interferometric illumination (similar to synthetic aperture radar) and computational image reconstruction (similar to computed tomography) to achieve ultra-high resolution that is far beyond the native resolution of the lens and the camera. Unlike conventional optical detection, resolution can be independently improved without affecting the field of view, working distance, and depth of field, thereby providing a unique mechanism to build a high-speed scanner for ultra-high density imaging. The SAO-based StellarVision gene expression analysis instrument can analyze hundreds of cells simultaneously within a single field of view using a 20x air lens, but with resolution comparable to 100x oil immersion lens or higher.

About LightSpeed Genomics

Founded in 2006, LSG is a development-stage company in Santa Clara, CA, focused on commercialization of its proprietary Synthetic Aperture Optics (SAO) technology. In SAO, specially designed illumination and post-processing software are used to generate multiple virtual sub-pixels (up to thousands) for each physical pixel of a camera, opening a way to transform, for example, a camera with one million pixels into a “super-camera” with one billion effective pixels. The company’s current working prototype SAO imager with a 20x lens has demonstrated such sub-pixel imaging capability with an order of magnitude increase in the number of effective pixels, empowering the 20x lens to achieve resolution superior to a 100x oil immersion lens.

For additional information about LightSpeed Genomics, Inc., contact info@lsgen.com or visit www.lsgen.com

About Biosearch Technologies, Inc.

Biosearch Technologies, Inc. is a privately held, ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 13485:2003 certified company, located in northern California. Founded in 1993, Biosearch is a leader in the design, development and manufacture of sophisticated oligonucleotide-based tools. Products include fluorophores (CAL Fluor®, Quasar® and Pulsar® dyes) and dark quenchers (Black Hole Quencher® dyes) to be included in custom-synthesized probe formats for real-time, quantitative PCR, Stellaris RNA FISH, and other genomic-based applications.

In addition to basic R&D applications, Biosearch now leverages its demonstrated expertise in fully assembled RUO kits and in the cGMP manufacture of oligonucleotide components for molecular diagnostic assays. Biosearch Technologies is registered with the FDA (registration number 3003009052), and licensed by the State of California Department of Public Health (license number 72147) as a medical device manufacturer. As such, its GMP and Commercial Services manufacturing processes conform to all applicable requirements per 21 CFR Part 820 and ISO 13485:2003. Biosearch’s markets include pharmaceutical, in vitro diagnostics, biotechnology, ag/bio, environmental and food testing, public health, and biodefense sectors.

For additional information about Biosearch Technologies, Inc., contact info@biosearchtech.com or visit www.biosearchtech.com

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