Groundbreaking CRISPR Technology

from the Gladstone Institute and University of California Berkeley

CRISPR based diagnostics are new technologies to diagnose human disease. DirectBio’s innovation is an amplification free CRISPR diagnostics. Amplification free means that errors leading to false diagnostic results are minimized and the diagnostic is thus more precisely, faster, and cheaper. DirectBio Inc. was founded to productize and commercialize this new class of diagnostic technologies to revolutionize cancer detection and monitoring.

Science & Technology

DirectBio is pioneering a new approach to molecular diagnostics based on CRISPR enzymes.

We harness the speed, specificity, and sensitivity of natural and AI-engineered CRISPR enzymes to create diagnostic assays that are simpler and more scalable than conventional PCR due to the need for fewer reagents, no RNA or DNA extraction, and no amplification or reverse transcription.

Direct Detection RNA Panels

We are developing direct detection RNA panels for both laboratory medicine and point-of-care applications using Cas13a.
Cas13 can be programmed to turn on its nuclease activity only in the presence of target RNAs with a certain sequence. Our assay uses Cas13a to generate a fluorescent signal in direct proportion to the number of copies of target in the reaction. This results in quantitative assays that can be read on existing equipment from multiple diagnostic companies, much like PCR.
Our technology enables an analytical sensitivity at or below 1 copy of target per microliter of reaction

Multiplexing via Barcoding

Our technology allows us to barcode the fluorescence from individual targets, enabling single-pot or droplet-based multiplexing. We are extending these methods to enable the multiplexed detection of not only RNA, but other biomolecules including proteins and DNA.
We envision a CRISPR-based future for diagnostics with point-of-care multi-analyte assays that combine the diagnostic power of multiple biomarkers from individual samples to efficiently detect and monitor patient health.

Quantifying microRNAs

miRNAs regulate many aspects of health, and increasing bodies of research have shown their importance in the development and recurrence of cancer. Due to their small size, miRNAs have been difficult to detect by Cas13 and other systems. By enabling the sensitive and quantitative detection of miRNAs, DirectBio aims to create that first tests that use miRNAs to detect cancer early when it is most treatable.

The innovation of DirectBio has the following advantages:

  • Multiplexed, multi-modality (multi-biomarker type) syndromic or disease specific panels
  • Simplicity to handle at patient site device for Point of Care (POC) applications, as the over 20-year-old existing PCR is difficult and complicated
  • The DirectBio technology works on some of the existing PCR platforms, POC and central labe clinical analyzers.
  • True Multiplexing. Multiplexing not by dividing the sample but by multiplexing in one solution; One-Sample Multiplexing
  • In contrast to other methods, the DirectBio technology allows for quantifiable results
  • The DirectBio technology is less error prone as it requires no amplification steps compared to conventional PCR technologies
  • The DirectBio technology has similar and better sensitivity compared to conventional PCR technologies.
  • The DirectBio technology is faster as it requires no amplification steps compared to conventional PCR technologies
  • Due to all reasons above, the diagnostics becomes cheaper compared to conventional PCR technologies
  • The DirectBio technology allows physicians to do all diagnostic testing on site in their own practice and receive additional income from paying insurances, which would otherwise have gone to central labs.

Team

The team is an experienced group coming from science and technology with academic and industry background, as well as from business with entrepreneurial and leadership background ranging from innovative emerging to the world’s largest healthcare companies.

Contact us

  • EMAIL US: info@directbio.com
  • CALL US: ‪+1 650-204-1622‬
  • ADDRESS: 135 Mississippi Street, San Francisco, CA 94107