DNA Script Advances Evaluation Program for the SYNTAX System, the First Benchtop DNA Printer Powered By Enzymatic Synthesis

The SYNTAX System Delivers DNA On Demand to Enable Labs to Control Their Workflow, Innovate Faster

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., and PARIS, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DNA Script, a leading pioneer in enabling enzymatic DNA synthesis on demand, today announced the third and final phase of its evaluation program for the SYNTAX System, the world's first benchtop printer powered by Enzymatic DNA Synthesis (EDS) technology. This SYNTAX instrument is designed to require less than 15 minutes of hands-on setup and synthesize DNA in as little as six hours, producing 96 ready-to-use oligos in parallel. 

Accelerating the company's progress toward commercialization, DNA Script has fully subscribed the third phase of the evaluation program with 10 companies and organizations who installed the SYNTAX System in their own labs and are providing usability feedback to DNA Script. This final evaluation phase follows an earlier plate evaluation program, whereby more than 30 companies ordered, received and tested plates of custom oligos to provide feedback on use equivalency to their current oligo supply, and an alpha instrument evaluation program as well.

"With SYNTAX, you can design, build, test and repeat — even within the same day," said Thomas Ybert, CEO and co-founder of DNA Script. "SYNTAX simplifies the synthesis process, enabling researchers with little training to upload sequence files, insert the reagent trays and get started without the need for dedicated, highly specialized personnel. The overwhelming feedback we've received has validated our goal of enabling labs to own their workflows and make their processes more efficient."

The SYNTAX System employs DNA Script's EDS technology, using a proprietary, highly engineered enzyme to accelerate nucleic acid synthesis and optimize its performance. Unlike conventional chemistry, this process is carried out in an open-air, aqueous medium without toxic solvents or hazardous waste. Enzymes enable SYNTAX to print functional oligos, even those that are hard to make using traditional phosphoramidite synthesis technology.

DNA Script's EDS technology and its deployment in the SYNTAX System has already been recognized for its flexibility and accessibility, with both GE and Moderna separately partnering with the company as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Nucleic Acids On-Demand World-Wide (NOW) Program. The DARPA NOW program aims to develop a mobile medical rapid-response manufacturing platform for use in stabilization and humanitarian operations to rapidly produce, formulate, and package hundreds of doses of nucleic acid therapeutics.  Current chemical-based methods of oligo production are not amenable to such a DNA-on-demand, deployable solution. 

In addition, DNA Script's EDS technology and the SYNTAX System previously were recognized and selected by the Molecular Encoding Consortium and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity's (IARPA) Molecular Information Storage (MIST) program to explore nucleic acid data storage.  

About DNA Script

Founded in 2014, DNA Script is a leading DNA synthesis company with a vision of engineering biology to accelerate breakthroughs in life science. The company is pioneering an alternative to traditional DNA synthesis called enzymatic DNA synthesis, or EDS, allowing this technology to be accessible to labs with the first benchtop enzymatic synthesis instrument, the SYNTAX System. By putting DNA synthesis back in the lab, DNA Script aims to transform life science research through innovative technology that gives researchers unprecedented control and autonomy.  www.dnascript.com.