Danish company Samplix ApS selected Innokas Medical to co-create the novel Xdrop™ instrument for droplet-based PCR-free enrichment of genomic regions.
Samplix ApS, founded in 2012 in Denmark, aspire to become the leading provider of next generation solutions for PCR-free target enrichment and amplification of single molecules for high fidelity molecular biology research. The company has recently introduced their latest innovation, Xdrop™ instrument, in the markets.
“We are a provider of tools for high fidelity molecular biology research. Our aim has been to develop a tool that can enable scientists to reveal the true biological representation where genomic variation is extremely rare and the target region is practically unknown”, tells Marie Mikkelsen, CTO at Samplix.
“We decided to develop a workflow based on compartmentalization of single molecules in droplets without the need for PCR amplification. After 6 years of product development and thorough testing, the fully developed system for droplet-based PCR-free enrichment of genomic regions, named Xdrop™, was commercially introduced in September 2019”, Mikkelsen continues.
In practice, the Xdrop™ instrument is a droplet generator that can produce droplets with use of specific microfluidics dPCR and dMDA cartrides. It is operated from the touch screen and droplet generation is fully automated. Samplix also offers the complete range of reagents, cartridges and accessories for use with the Xdrop™ instrument.
Better outcome by co-creation
Samplix and Innokas Medical started design and development related co-operation in the end of 2018, when Samplix chose Innokas Medical as their co-creation partner to develop the final commercial version of their innovation.
“When our technology matured to the stage where we needed mass manufacturing of our instruments, we contacted a range of different companies to assess their OEM capabilities. Innokas Medical was selected based on having solid internal development capabilities including project management, mechanical, hardware and software engineering, as well as FDA approved production facilities capable of high-volume manufacturing at a competitive cost”, Mikkelsen tells.
Petri Jolma, who has been working as Project Manager in the project, sees that Innokas has been able to create concrete and valuable benefits to Samplix because the company has all the needed competencies in house to support Samplix’s project
“Project was first started with pre-design activities, followed by detailed design, prototype-rounds and having now manufacturing series builds ongoing”, Jolma tells.
“The major challenge of the project was the very tight schedule. I see our assets in the situation were the wide partner network as well as production, design and QA&RA resources locating in same facility. Additionally, the key factors for the success were absolutely customer expertise in their area, their fast decision making and excellent communication level between companies. It has been a real pleasure to work with Samplix”, he continues.
The same feeling has Mikkelsen, who is looking forward on the future mutual success, as she strongly believes in better outcome through co-creation partnership between Samplix and Innokas Medical. She tells the cooperation with Innokas Medical’s team has gone very well, as expected.
“During the past year of working with Innokas Medical we have had very positive experiences. The team is very professional, following good project management practice, and we have had a good communication with the entire team throughout the project. We have experienced a high degree of transparency in all matters relating to the project giving us confidence in timelines, risks, quality, and pricing structure. It has been a pleasure working with Innokas and we are looking forward to our continued collaboration”, she concludes.
For more information about Samplix and their innovation, please go to:
