Arrayit Corporation (ARYC)

[StockDetective]

Gagna’s science, which comes as close as possible to recreating the environmental conditions within cells, is sound: He’s already formed a working partnership with Silicon Valley-based manufacturer Arrayit Corp., which has already produced working prototypes. Gagna is also considering applying for a U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant, likely in the $1.5–3 million range. That would be enough funding, he says, to launch a small startup that could market and manufacture the next-gen microarrays. “If you’re a pharmaceutical company with 50 new chemicals or biologics, you might want to test them out with our microarrays to see if they’re binding with B-DNA, Z-DNA or quadruplex DNA,” he says. “If they are, maybe you can use those new drugs to inhibit gene expression of a disease, and you have your billion-dollar drug. “This is a cutting-edge approach that can save pharmaceutical companies a lot of time and money, which might result in lower drug prices.” Arrayit Corp., an 800-pound gorilla in the world of microarrays, is on board and would be part of the STTR grant, bringing its high-end manufacturing, software, and marketing expertise into a potential corporate mix. “The basic research would be done here at NYIT with our students and the large-scale manufacturing would be done by Arrayit,” Gagna notes. “They believe in the product. They want to be part of the grant. They want to be part of the team.” Gagna is currently formulating a strategy with NYIT administrators on how to proceed. He estimates a best-case scenario of roughly six years to perfect prototypes and of venture capitalization in order to deliver a fully commercialized product with global potential. “We already have Arrayit Corp, which knows how to sell microarrays, so we don’t have to go out and hire a sales team,” Gagna says. “And we’re offering researchers two important things: a new approach to studying the structure and function of canonical and exotic DNA and RNA, and a chance to enhance drug-discovery.” https://www.nyit.edu/box/profiles/faculty_profile_claude_gagna