MEMS Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

Medical MEMS: SQZ Biotech raises $65 million to develop cell therapies

SQZ Biotechnologies (SQZ), a clinical stage cell therapy company developing innovative treatments for multiple therapeutic areas, announced this week the completion of a $65 million Series D preferred stock financing. The round was led by Temasek with participation from another new large, US-based fund as well as additional participation from existing investors, including GV, Illumina Ventures, Invus, JDRF T1D Fund, NanoDimension, and Polaris Partners. The company also announced the expansion of its cellular vaccine platform, currently in trial for oncology, into infectious diseases, and development of a point-of-care system to potentially generate patient product directly at treatment centers.

MEMS foundry X-FAB invests $25 million to expand silicon-based microfluidics offering

X-FAB Silicon Foundries announced this week that it has taken steps to simplify the integration of microfluidic elements with CMOS and SOI die. As part of the company's MEMS-oriented technology offering, X-FAB is now able to provide a larger variety of process capabilities for silicon based microfluidic systems. X-FAB has been focused on a more standardized foundry approach, to remove barriers to market entry and shorten development cycles. X-FAB has made $25 million worth of investment in the area of microfluidics in the past 5 years, while taking on numerous projects for medical and industrial clients for applications such as lab-on-a-chip, DNA sequencing and synthesis, and cancer diagnostics. Through these projects, X-FAB has expanded its expertise in areas like noble metal processing, high aspect-ratio deep reactive ion-etching (DRIE), and the deposition of both organic and inorganic materials. X-FAB says it also has become adept at tailoring the interfaces needed to connect CMOS die and the accompanying microfluidics elements, so the exact application requirements can be met.

Sensera's MEMS devices mimic human organs through bioengineering

Sensera is adapting its MEMS technology for new applications in bioengineering. The company's MEMS technology is now being used at Harvard University for the creation of microfluidic devices which mimic the functions of living human organs, including the lung, intestine, kidney, skin, bone marrow and blood-brain barrier. "Sensera is a key partner providing critical microdevice component fabrication, which enables our growing applications in precision medicine and personalized health," said Dr. Richard Novak, Senior Staff Engineer at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. "These microchips, called "organs-on-chips", offer a potential alternative to traditional animal testing. Each organ-on-chip comprises a polymeric membrane that contains hollow channels lined by living human cells."

Bio-Rad acquires QuantaLife's microfluidic technology for $162 million

Bio-Rad Laboratories, a manufacturer and distributor of life science research and clinical diagnostics products, announced this week that it has acquired QuantaLife, a microfluidic technology startup, for $162 million in cash plus potential future milestone payments.  QuantaLife raised $17.2 million in venture capital financing in December 2010.

Sony acquires Micronics and its microfluidics technology

Sony Corporation announced this week that it has acquired Micronics, Inc. (headquartered in Redmond, Washington).  Micronics is involved in the development of near patient point-of-care devices for disease diagnosis, treatment monitoring and blood testing, and also provides product development services for third-party clients.  Sony said that it acquired Micronics to accelerate its own research and development, particularly for point-of-care diagnostic equipment, as well as to accelerate the commercialization of these products.

PerkinElmer to acquire microfluidics company Caliper for $600 million

PerkinElmer, a global biomedical company, announced this week that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Caliper Life Sciences, a Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based firm that specializes in microfluidic technologies for life sciences research, diagnostics and environmental markets, for a total net purchase price of approximately $600 million in cash.  The total purchase price represents a premium of 42% for Caliper Life Sciences shareholders.  "The acquisition of Caliper Life Sciences brings innovative molecular imaging and detection technologies to our portfolio, complementing our world-leading offerings in life science, diagnostics, environmental and food markets," said PerkinElmer's CEO Robert F. Friel.

Firefly BioWorks receives $2 million NIH grant for cancer diagnostics

Firefly BioWorks, a manufacturer of cancer diagnostic assays based on microfluidics, announced this week that it was awarded a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute for microRNA profiling.  MicroRNAs are an emerging class of biomarkers that are proving to be important indicators for early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.  The company will use the award to expand production capacity and validate its microRNA assay against the current state of the art.  The goal of the Phase II SBIR grant studies is to develop a product providing a combination of performance, throughput and cost not available from existing solutions.

Molecular diagnostics and microfluidics: market overview and opportunities

Dr. Greg Galvin is a successful veteran of the MEMS industry.  His first company was sold in 2000 to Calient Networks, an optical MEMS switching company in San Jose.  The transaction at the time was valued at ~$300 million in cash and stock.  Dr. Galvin's second company, Kionix, focuses on the design and fabrication of MEMS inertial sensing devices and was acquired in 2009 by ROHM Co., Ltd. for $233.5 million.  Now, Dr. Galvin has launched his third company, Rheonix, that concentrates on molecular diagnostics applications enabled by microfluidic technologies.  In this extensive interview, Dr. Galvin discusses opportunities in the molecular diagnostics market, current cost trends and technology developments, and shares the vision for his new company.

Lab-on-chip diagnostic devices from low-cost, disposable paper strips

Researchers have invented a technique that uses inexpensive paper to make microfluidic devices for rapid medical diagnostics and chemical analysis.  The innovation enhances commercially available diagnostic devices that use paper-strip assays like those that test for diabetes and pregnancy.  "With current systems that use paper test strips you can measure things like pH or blood sugar, but you can't perform more complex chemical assays," said Babak Ziaie, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering at Purdue University.

IDEX to acquire Microfluidics International for $14 million

IDEX Corporation announced this week that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Microfluidics International Corporation for $1.35 per share, or $14 million, in cash.  The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.  Headquartered in Newton, Massachussetts, Microfluidics International achieved $16 million in revenue in 2009.  Microfluidics will operate as a stand-alone business within the IDEX Fluid and Metering segment.