PROJECT SUMMARY
AtlasXomics Inc. is commercializing the next generation of spatial biology tools to help
researchers understand the epigenetic mechanisms of disease. The goal of this SBIR grant is to
commercialize a product suite of hardware, consumables, and software to spatially interrogate
tissue and generate a new layer of data for better understanding gene expression modulation in
tissue. The development of novel research tools is critical to address the significant healthcare
burden posed by cancer and cardiovascular disease. Epigenetic dysregulation plays a significant
role in disease development and response to therapy, but current technologies are inadequate
for capturing epigenetic changes in interacting cell populations. AtlasXomics developed and
established proof-of-concept performance of the spatial ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase
Accessible Chromatin) assay. In the Phase I, AtlasXomics successfully transferred the academic
protocol into a commercial workflow and met industry standards for ATAC-seq quality in mouse
and human cancer tissues. The Company introduced the first commercial epigenomics assay to
the market in June 2022.
In this proposed Phase II, the Company will increase the price performance of the assay to
address feedback from customers and prospects: cover a larger area of tissue, increase cellular
resolution, and establish a user-friendly, interactive data analysis suite that enables researchers
to seamlessly analyze data. The product of this SBIR will be an all-in-one kit that integrates a
suite of hardware, consumables, and bioinformatics tools to enable scientists to explore the
epigenetic dimension of disease pathology., e.g., characterize tumor and immune cells spatially
in the tissue microenvironment. The product will democratize broad adoption of the spatial
epigenomics platform because it does not require costly custom equipment and the proposed
bioinformatics workflow will also simplify the analysis of the large epigenomics datasets generated
by the assay. This product will help scientists to gain biological insight into the spatial epigenetic
mechanisms that drive disease progression and therapy response.