U.S. agency ARPA-H has commissioned GE HealthCare to build an on-demand DNA production and validation system
U.S. agency ARPA-H has commissioned GE HealthCare to build an on-demand DNA production and validation system
On August 4, DNA Script, which develops enzymatic DNA synthesis technology, announced that it was participating in the four-year FLASH project. ARPA-H awarded the prime contractor, GE HealthCare, a contract worth up to $26 million. According to the agency’s award record, the project began on March 16. The team is expected to build an automated system that produces, purifies, and validates DNA, then provide it to the program’s early users.
A researcher starts with a digital sequence, but an experiment requires a physical DNA molecule. That molecule must be produced, purified to remove byproducts, and checked to confirm that its sequence matches the order. The ARPA-H award record describes FLASH as an automated system designed to combine these operations.
The process begins with DNA Script’s enzymatic synthesis technology. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In the company’s method, an enzyme adds one nucleotide, a building block of DNA, at a time to a growing strand. A temporary blocking group on the newly added nucleotide stops the strand from extending further. The blocking group is then removed, allowing the enzyme to add the next nucleotide. The sequence is assembled one nucleotide per cycle in this way.
DNA Script is responsible for enzymatic synthesis within the project, while GE HealthCare is contributing scale-up technology to increase production volume. The program is intended to integrate synthesis with purification, confirmation that the finished DNA matches the ordered sequence, and automation.
In June, synthetic DNA suppliers were urged to screen both the ordered sequence and the customer. For FLASH, ARPA-H requires biosecurity and cybersecurity measures alongside the production stages. Under the agency’s plan, the completed system will be provided to the program’s early users, allowing researchers developing DNA-based medicines to produce the sequences they need on demand.