Alithea Genomics, a leader in large-scale RNA sequencing, received a loan guarantee from Switzerland's Technology Fund, aiding its growth. The fund, part of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, supports companies reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alithea's innovative technologies, such as BRB-seq and DRUG-seq, cut costs, time, and resource use in RNA sequencing, promoting sustainability. This support helps Alithea expand its team and enhance its disruptive genomic research solutions.
Alithea Genomics, an emerging leader in the field of large-scale RNA sequencing and transcriptomics, announced today that it has received significant support from Switzerland’s Technology Fund in the form of a loan guarantee.
The Technology Fund of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment FOEN uses loan guarantees to support companies developing pioneering products that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut resource consumption.
“The Technology Fund guarantee will significantly benefit Alithea Genomics, enabling us to bring new products to market, expand our team, and enhance our services. This support is crucial for our growth and will drive our continued disruption of the genomic research industry,” said Riccardo Dainese, CEO and co-founder of Alithea Genomics.
“Alithea’s innovative technologies can significantly reduce the consumption of plastics and reagents for their customers, compared to traditional sequencing technologies. This helps to promote more sustainable practices and minimize the environmental impact of the life sciences industry,” added Simone Riedel Riley, General Manager of the Technology Fund.
Alithea commercializes massively multiplexed library preparation solutions for RNA sequencing, most notably BRB-seq and DRUG-seq. These technologies enable the preparation of hundreds of RNA samples for sequencing in a single tube and, in the case of DRUG-seq, without the need for RNA isolation. Traditional preparation of samples for RNA sequencing is expensive and time consuming, due to the large amounts of reagents and manual operations that are typically required. Alithea’s BRBseq technology drastically decreases the cost, time and resource consumption associated with RNA sequencing preparation.
About RNA Sequencing
RNA sequencing examines the quantity and sequences of RNA in a biological sample using next-generation sequencing (NGS). This data specifies which of the genes encoded in DNA are turned on or off, and to what extent, e.g., in a diseased cell or in response to a drug or different environmental conditions. This improved understanding of cellular biology can help guide decisions in multiple key steps of the drug discovery and development process.