Oxford Nanopore Technologies aims to disrupt the paradigm of biological analysis by making high performance, novel DNA/RNA sequencing technology that is accessible and easy to use.
Our novel, electronics-based DNA/RNA sequencing technology is being used in more than 70 countries, for a range of biological research applications. These include large scale human genomics, cancer research, microbiology, plant science and environmental research.
Nanopore sequencing is also being explored beyond research, where it has the potential to provide rapid, meaningful information in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, food and water surveillance and education.
Oxford Nanopore’s proprietary technology is fully scalable for any requirement. Small formats such as Flongle address the need for on-demand, rapid, smaller tests or experiments, and can be used in labs or in the field. The pocket-sized MinION is a powerful and portable sequencing device that can deliver high volumes of long read sequence data.
The benchtop GridION X5 can run up to five MinION Flow Cells at a time, on-demand, for larger genomics projects. The recently launched PromethION is the largest format for nanopore sequencing, designed to offer on-demand use of up to 48 Flow Cells – each of which can offer more than 100Gb of sequencing data.
Focusing on ease of use, nanopore sequencing offers easy and rapid preparation, including a ten minute library preparation kit and the automated, programmable VolTRAX.
Supported by a broad patent portfolio, the Oxford Nanopore pipeline includes multiple generations of nanopore-based sensing technologies, including those based on both biological and solid-state nanopores.
The company
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd is a private company headquartered at the Oxford Science Park outside Oxford, UK, with satellite offices in Cambridge (UK), New York, Cambridge (US), Shanghai, and a broader commercial presence that includes Japan, Germany, France, India and France.
The Company was founded in 2005 to develop a disruptive, electronic, single-molecule sensing system based on nanopore science. The first product, MinION, was introduced into early access in 2014 and made commercially available in 2015. The scaled-up GridION was commercially launched in 2017 and PromethION in 2018. Flongle is scheduled for release in 2018. The Company has a rich development pipeline that includes solutions to enable any user, anywhere, including the mobile-phone-compatible SmidgION and low cost, portable sample prep Ubik.
The Company now has more than 350 employees from multiple disciplines including nanopore science, molecular biology and applications, informatics, engineering, electronics, manufacturing and commercialisation. The management team, led by CEO Dr Gordon Sanghera, has a track record of delivering disruptive technologies to the market.
Oxford Nanopore was founded on the science of Professor Hagan Bayley of the University of Oxford. In 2008 the Company created a series of collaborations with world-leading nanopore researchers at other institutions including Harvard, University of California Santa Cruz and Boston University. Further collaborations have since been added; these, in combination with in-house expertise and Intellectual Property give the company a leading position in nanopore technology.
The Company has raised £451m to date in the following fundraising rounds, and is currently well funded for the next phase of corporate development. The Company does not have traditional Venture Capital investment; instead, the investor profile more closely mirrors those of publicly listed companies.