Oxford Nanopore's Sample-To-Answer Patent
Someone recently forwarded me a patent from Oxford Nanopore discussing what looks like a sample-to-answer nanopore sequencer.
The patent is light on the details, and doesn’t to me seem to contain much in the way of fundamental innovation. But there are a few interesting points (and some fun schematics) like this one:
The oddest thing about this device (and it’s mentioned multiple times in the text) is that it uses an SD card interface. SD cards currently being most commonly used in digital cameras. Back in the early 2000s Wifi adapters and cameras were available that would also fit in SD card slots, but it seems like a weird choice today.
It does mean they can use a low cost PCB edge connector, but there are surely better options available…
The fluidics system is perhaps more interesting:
The input material (from for example a swab) passes through a fixed protocol, microfludics system to prepare it for sequencing. This could be via capillary action, but the patent also mentions electro wetting (as used in the Voltrax and other instruments).
The system as described seems like it would be somewhat limited in terms of reagent volumes (compared to something like the GeneXpert) but I see no reason why it couldn’t be effective here.
A number of lysis approaches are mentioned (chemical, mechanical, and electrical/electroporation). With transposon based adapter addition. Finally the motor protein is added. Reagents can of course be pelletized/freeze dried.
This all seems pretty conservative, while of course getting the implementation work well, will require considerable engineering effort.
The patent also shows a simpler system, which does not contain any of the prep components. This looks much more like a traditional SD card:
Figure 1b shows a configuration that looks very much like the MinION flowcell. With a nanopore array on the top, PCB interposer and what seems to be an ASIC on the bottom of the board. Very much like the MinION…
From the images shown, you’d estimate something like 500 pores. While the patent talks about the potential for recycling flowcells, this seems extremely problematic in a sample-to-answer diagnostic platform where you would really want to be isolating and disposing of any consumable that interfaced with a potentially infectious sample.
Overall, this is a MinION-like platform. I would therefore expect a consumable a COGS in the $200 range. So, without further innovation I would assume this device would be sold for about the same price as MinION flowcells ($475).
Given this, the platform doesn’t seem like a replacement for qPCR tests or even respiratory panels (BioFire FilmArray, ~$100). But could perhaps be useful for further testing beyond this or point of care applications that are currently not addressed. Revenue from the FilmArray is in the 600M Euro range, and I imagine that the market for a platform costing 5x to 10x more would be significantly smaller.
There are perhaps other methods that could be used to further reduce COGS, but I don’t see them here… after the paywall break below we’ll discuss these a bit further…