Gene synthesis player GenScript is adding new synthetic biology capabilities—in areas such as CRISPR and antibody engineering—with a buyout of CustomArray.
Based in Bothell, Washington, CustomArray offers oligonucleotide pools and DNA microarrays—also called DNA chips or biochips—for applications including DNA libraries and targeted sequencing, as well as CRISPR and protein and antibody engineering. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of CustomArray further strengthens our synthetic biology product portfolio with a unique technology that we believe will enhance our customers' ability to accelerate innovation in drug discovery and development, genome editing, protein engineering, and synthetic biology," said GenScript CEO Frank Zhang, Ph.D., in a statement.
CustomArray’s semiconductor chip tech allows it to synthesize DNA directly on the chip surface; it can create thousands of oligonucleotides simultaneously in a high-density and cost-effective way, the company says.
“We are excited to join the GenScript team and excited to capitalize on the opportunity to bring our technology to a much broader range of customers and applications than we could ever reach on our own,” said CustomArray CEO Brooke Anderson. “We look forward to providing products to innovators in the fields of genome editing, biomaterials, agriculture, and more."