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Spinomix Receives Milestone Payment from Debiopharm for MDx Sample Prep Tech

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Molecular diagnostic sample prep firm Spinomix has received an undisclosed payment from Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical conglomerate Debiopharm Group for achieving a development milestone for a pair of sample prep technologies, Debiopharm said this week.

Specifically, Spinomix is to receive an undisclosed second tranche payment from Debiopharm related to the development of the MagPhase and FibroTrap technologies.

MagPhase is an automated DNA extraction platform based on magnetic nanoparticles and microfluidic disposable cartridges. The MagPhase technology manipulates particles such that they form a "dynamic sweeping fog structure" of particles, allowing for optimal exposure and enhanced mixing with the surrounding liquid medium, according to Spinomix's website. This highly homogeneous structure of particles ensures an enhanced reaction of analytes with particle surfaces during assay processing, the company said.

Spinomix has built a series of MagPhase pilot instruments and placed four such instruments with undisclosed academic and industry partners for field testing of nucleic acid purification, Debiopharm said.

Meantime, Spinomix's FibroTrap is a fibrinogen-based technology that enables highly specific and sensitive isolation of targeted cells and molecules in clinical samples directly in routine collection tubes. Spinomix has successfully demonstrated use of FibroTrap in key applications laid out in its development plan, Debiopharma said.

Spinomix, founded in 2004 and located at the Innovation Park at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, closed a $3 million Series A equity financing one year ago led by Debiopharm.

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