This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to make next generation sequencing technology for small RNA more quantitative and less biased. High throughput sequencing has transformed the landscape of genomic research with its ability to produce gigabases of data in a single run. This has enabled researchers to perform genome wide and high depth sequencing studies that would normally not be possible. Despite this capacity, amplification artifacts introduced during PCR increase the chance of duplicate reads and uneven distribution of read coverage. Accurate profiling using deep sequencing also has been undermined by biases with over or under-represented miRNAs. The presence of these biases significantly limits the incredible sensitivity and accuracy made possible by next generation sequencing. The goal of this proposal is to develop novel, bias-reducing technology for making amplification-free small RNA libraries. The company's kits and protocols will ramp-up considerably the rate at which global microRNA profiles can be determined, and that between-sample and within-sample differences (as well as newly discovered small RNAs) can be subsequently validated. This product will result in a major shift in the way small RNA sequencing is performed and pave the way for unbiased measurements in the clinic.
The broader impact of this project will be the accurate measure of small RNAs, and the clinical utility of such a profile. Products of the same microRNA gene that vary in length by one or two nucleotides are involved in a whole host of diseases, including cancer. The value for developing a method to measure the true profile of microRNAs in a sample would be immense for the research community studying transcriptional regulation, and would open the doors to clinicians interested in capitalizing on the diagnostic value of microRNA profiling. Companies whose sole model is to extract prognostic information from microRNA profiles would benefit from the wealth of date generated from accurate non-biased high throughout sequencing. The size of the next generation sequencing market is expected to pass $4 billion by 2014. Growth in the sequencing diagnostic market is just beginning. Unique diagnostic kits developed from this technology will fulfill an unmet market opportunity with the potential to exceed $15 million in the first 3 years.
To succinctly summarize and provide a framework for our phase I results, we were successful meeting half of our goals in objective 1 and successfully met all of our goals in objective 2. In objective 1 our goal was to develop a small RNA sequencing library preparation protocol that did not utilize PCR amplification. Extensive testing showed that we were able to significantly reduce the number of PCR cycles required for library preparation, but not completely eliminate them. Reducing PCR cycles significantly helped with bias reduction and was a launch board for the success we had in objective 2. The second part of objective 1 was to develop technology to reduce adapter dimer formation during small RNA-Seq library preparation. We were successful in developing a method to reduce dimers and have filed a patent to protect this development. The exciting work developed in phase I: 1) novel small RNA library prep protocol, 2) adapter dimer reduction method will be the basis for our phase II application and serve as the launch board to develop this technology into a product for the life science research market. Once this technology has matured in the research market, we have interest in taking this technology to the clinical diagnostic market.
