ColorTech Bio and GenePharma Announce Strategic Collaboration to Advance Single-Molecule Detection Platforms

On March 23, 2021, Suzhou Genepharma Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Genepharma”) and Lychix (Suzhou) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Lychix”) jointly signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

Compared with traditional detection methods, single-molecule detection can precisely capture each target molecule onto a solid-phase carrier (such as Lychix’s magnetic fluorescent encoded microbeads). The microbeads are then separated via a microfluidic chip system to prevent mutual interference, enabling catalytic luminescence detection within a femtoliter (fL)-scale liquid phase system. In the final optical signal processing, dynamic monitoring is employed to eliminate background interference while performing signal analysis, thereby yielding results with high reproducibility and precision.

Based on detection characteristics, single-molecule detection technology is more tolerant of sample requirements, offering advantages over traditional methods, particularly in specialized fields with extremely limited sample volumes.Its limit of detection reaches the fg/mL level.In practical applications, barriers such as the blood-brain barrier and the maternal-fetal barrier prevent the detection of certain relevant biomarkers in blood samples using conventional methods. However, single-molecule detection platforms enable highly dynamic and intuitive monitoring, thereby facilitating clinical diagnosis and life sciences research.

Overall, single-molecule detection technology offers advantages such as high resolution, high sensitivity, low background signal, minimal sample requirements, and short analysis time. It enables the detection of low-abundance proteins in complex samples, facilitating clear differentiation between health and disease states as well as monitoring of disease onset and progression.

Detection at single-molecule sensitivity not only has mature applications in the field of ultra-low-abundance protein detection but is also suitable for ultrasensitive detection of nucleic acid molecules, aptamers, and other targets.

This collaboration between the two parties,Suzhou Genepharma Co., Ltd. will establish an ultra-high-sensitivity multiplex protein detection technology platform, and will also conduct more in-depth research with Lychix on nucleic acid testing, particularly for RNA, while expanding its application scenarios.thereby better serving Genepharma’s existing customer base. This collaboration enables both parties to leverage their respective strengths, share resources, achieve complementary advantages, and realize mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.

Genepharma is committed to becoming a leading RNA therapeutics technology service platform in China. Founded in 2003 by a team of overseas-returnee scholars in Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai, the company established its headquarters in the BioBAY of Suzhou Industrial Park in 2007. As a pioneer in the domestic RNA products sector, Genepharma boasts a complete industry chain encompassing RNA monomer synthesis, small interfering RNA (siRNA) synthesis, and the research and development of both small nucleic acid drugs and mRNA therapeutics.The company possesses core technologies for RNA chemical synthesis at an internationally advanced level, including techniques for synthesizing various RNA monomers and modified monomers, as well as standard and modified RNA oligonucleotides. In the field of molecular detection, Genepharma offers expertise in the production of various fluorescent dyes, nucleic acid fluorescent labeling, and fluorescent quantitative PCR probe synthesis. It also provides fluorescent quantitative detection kits for microRNA, circRNA, lncRNA, and mRNA, along with corresponding qPCR detection technologies.In molecular biology, the company specializes in the construction and synthesis of interference expression plasmid vectors, viral vector construction and packaging, in vitro mRNA synthesis, and CRISPR/Cas9 vector construction services. Its animal service capabilities include platforms for genetically edited animals, cell-derived xenografts (CDX), and patient-derived xenografts (PDX). Additionally, Genepharma operates high-throughput RNA library and drug screening technology platforms, facilitating comprehensive research on genes, disease functions, and drug development for scientists and pharmaceutical enterprises alike.

Genepharma currently boasts 13,000 m² of R&D and production facilities, including a 1,000 m² GMP-compliant workshop for Class III diagnostic kits and an RNA drug GMP pilot-scale workshop under construction. Genepharma sincerely welcomes partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, leveraging its specialized RNA drug R&D platform and RNA active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production base as an industrialization platform for new drug development.

Suzhou Genepharma Co., Ltd. has established collaborative partnerships with leading domestic and international universities and research institutions—including the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Tsinghua University; Fudan University; Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Rutgers University (USA); and Deakin University (Australia)—as well as with numerous renowned biopharmaceutical companies and large tertiary hospitals. Together, we are developing RNA diagnostic reagents and RNA therapeutics. The company has filed a total of 89 invention patents, including 2 PCT international patents, 1 U.S. patent, 1 Japanese patent, and 1 European patent, with 44 patents already granted. Genepharma’s RNA-related products and services are marketed globally. Over 16,000 representative scientific papers authored by researchers worldwide using Genepharma’s products and services have been published in prestigious journals such as Science, Cell, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Genetics, and Nature Cell Biology. Upholding the corporate values of “Integrity, Respect, Collaboration, and Innovation,” we sincerely welcome pharmaceutical enterprises to establish long-term, extensive, and mutually beneficial partnerships in areas including RNA gene function research, new drug development, and diagnostic reagent innovation.

Lychix (Suzhou) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was registered and established in Suzhou Industrial Park in 2018 by a team of overseas-educated Ph.D. holders. In the same year, it was recognized as one of the “Top 12 Science and Technology Leading Enterprises” in Suzhou Industrial Park. In 2020, the company was selected for the Gusu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leading Talent Program under the Suzhou Municipal Science and Technology Plan, and received investment from IDG Capital and Borui Pharmaceutical (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (“Borui Medicine,” stock code: 688166).

Lychix has established R&D and sales centers at both the Suzhou BioBAY and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in the United States. With an international leadership team and core experts from China and the U.S. in optics, microfluidics, materials science, and biomedical technologies, Lychix is actively driving the development of next-generation digital biotechnologies for clinical and pharmaceutical applications.

Lychix possesses core technology platforms—the Ultra-High Sensitivity Biomolecular Detection Platform and the Multiplex Magnetic Fluorescent Encoding Microsphere Platform—as well as the Medivh series of reagent and equipment products.