Swift Biosciences hires 4 as it debuts 2 new products

Swift Biosciences has launched two new products this month, releases the Ann Arbor-based company expects to help power its growth this year.

The 5-year-old life sciences startup makes tools for genomic research. It just released Accel-NGSTM Methyl-Seq DNA Library Kit. The new product utilizes AdaptaseTM technology, a unique molecular biology method that works with single-stranded DNA. The Adaptase technology enables next generation sequencing libraries to be made post-bisulfite treatment, allowing researchers to recover more of their input DNA and use a hundredfold less input material compared to other commercially available products.

"It's a way of examining the regulations of the genome, mostly what is on and what is off," says David Olson, CEO of Swift Biosciences. "What is active and what is not."

Swift Biosciences also recently launched its Accel-NGS Amplicon panels, which helps molecular biologists detect and screen clinically relevant mutations. The underlying technology enables hundreds of primer pairs to be amplified in a single tube. The panels can be used to target either contiguous coverage of a single gene, multiple loci throughout the genome, or a combination of both.

"It's a way of looking at a small number of important genes much faster and at a much lower expense than looking at the full genome," Olson says. "These genes can be the critical genes that impact our agriculture or oncology."

Swift Biosciences is also looking launching another new product or two before the end of this year (Olson declined to elaborate on them) along with a couple of new versions of is existing products. Its growing product portfolio has enabled the company to hire four people over the last year (technicians and sales & marketing professional), expanding its staff to 19 people.

"It would be fair to say we have grown 10-fold in the last year, customers and revenue," Olson says. "We hope to continue that pace this year."

Swift Bio Sciences has raised $13.15 million in venture capital, including a $7 million Series B it closed on earlier this year.

Source: David Olson, CEO of Swift Biosciences
Writer: Jon Zemke

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