Fluent BioSciences awarded NIH SBIR grant to commercialize low-cost million-cell transcriptome profiling kits powered by Ultima Genomics sequencing, prototype kits now shipping

WATERTOWN, Mass., March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fluent BioSciences, a cutting-edge life sciences company leading the charge in revolutionizing single-cell analysis through simple, cost-effective, and highly scalable single-cell RNA sequencing solutions is thrilled to announce the award of an NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS, 2 R44 GM137648). This funding will support the commercialization of million-cell analysis kits enabled by low-cost, high-capacity sequencing by Ultima Genomics.

Prototype million-cell PIPseq kits developed by Fluent BioSciences that enable the profiling of an unprecedented number of cells within a single reaction were recently tested in the laboratory of Samantha Morris at Washington University, St. Louis (WUSTL). The WUSTL team employs single-cell lineage tracing to interrogate how to recreate physiologically accurate cell types with cellular reprogramming. Ultima Genomics sequencing of the prototype million-cell PIPseq data revealed clonal lineage trees with restriction of specific cell reprogramming fates. Leveraging the unmatched scalability of PIPseq with the affordable high-capacity sequencing of Ultima Genomics, WUSTL demonstrated that cellular reprogramming studies can be easily and affordably conducted at scale. "Sample preparation was simple and the scale of the million-cell kit provided impressive power to our single-cell lineage tracing observations," said Samantha Morris, Associate Professor at WUSTL. 

"The collaboration between Fluent BioSciences and Ultima represents a remarkable synergy in pushing the boundaries of single-cell analysis," said Brian McKernan, CEO of Fluent BioSciences.  "This collaboration harnesses the strengths and expertise of both companies to address a critical challenge faced by researchers - the ability to perform single-cell sequencing on larger cell inputs for improved scalability and reduced cost. By eliminating the need for microfluidics devices or chips, the PIPseq technology offers unparalleled flexibility in the scale of beads per sample."

"We are excited to work with Fluent BioSciences to demonstrate compatibility of PIPseq on Ultima sequencers, optimize library construction for Ultima-specific sequencing, and demonstrate high-capacity single cell analysis across several applications developed by Fluent, including high cell input neuroscience, multi-sample hashing, and complex CRISPR editing applications. The single-cell market is undergoing another major wave of growth with larger-scale experiments enabled by low-cost sequencing and advancement of single-cell technology," said Doron Lipson, CSO of Ultima Genomics.

Through this partnership, Fluent BioSciences and Ultima aim to revolutionize the field of single-cell analysis by enabling researchers to unlock deeper insights into cellular mechanisms and disease pathways with unparalleled throughput and accuracy. To learn more about Fluent BioSciences' million-cell PIPseq prototype kits and how they can empower high-throughput single-cell profiling, please contact [email protected].

About Fluent BioSciences

Fluent BioSciences is a biotechnology company with a mission to revolutionize the understanding of biology and disease through accessible, affordable, and scalable solutions for every laboratory from research to the clinic.  Fluent's breakthrough scRNA-seq technology, PIPseq, enables high-quality single-cell biology by providing scalable, cost-effective, and easy-to-implement scRNA-seq solutions.

SOURCE Fluent BioSciences