Thermo Fisher Scientific

IntegenX Inc. was a Pleasanton, California biotechnology company that designed, manufactured, and marketed automated instruments for microsample preparation and analysis, with a focus on Rapid DNA technology for human identification in forensics and law enforcement. Its platforms combined fluidics, optics, and biochemistry into sample-to-answer workflows, anchored in technology licensed from the University of California, Berkeley. The flagship RapidHIT System was a self-contained instrument that produced standardized, database-compatible STR DNA profiles from buccal swabs and other samples in roughly 90 minutes, compared with a standard laboratory turnaround measured in weeks. In 2015 the company launched the RapidHIT ID System, which profiles individuals from buccal swabs in under two hours using short tandem repeat chemistries sold by Thermo Fisher, and in February 2017 it introduced the RapidHIT EXT cartridge for extracted and quantified evidence samples.

Beyond human identification, the product line included next-generation sequencing library preparation systems — such as the Apollo 324 NGS system, which uses bead-based isolation and purification of nucleic acids and proteins, sequencing library reagent kits, and the Apollo 100XL for Sanger cycle sequencing sample preparation — as well as GenTegra DNA and GenTegra RNA ambient-temperature nucleic acid storage products and GenPlate. Applications spanned DNA-based human identity testing and forensics, next-generation sequencing, and biodefense. The company reported an intellectual property portfolio in the 100–149 range, including patented MOVe valve technology and PrepX kits.

IntegenX participated in the US SBIR program, receiving three Phase I awards and one Phase II award totaling approximately $1.65 million from DARPA, the Army, and DHS between 2004 and 2009, and as MicroChip Biotechnologies had received non-SBIR NIH R01 support from the National Human Genome Research Institute. Thermo Fisher Scientific announced its acquisition of the company in March 2018 for an undisclosed amount, after which IntegenX operated as a subsidiary focused on life sciences R&D.

Founding story

Accounts differ on founding details. One source states IntegenX was founded in 2006 by Stevan Jovanovich and Dennis Harris to accelerate human identification for law enforcement and forensic science. Another states the company was co-founded in 2003 by Dr. Stevan Jovanovich as Microchip Biotechnologies in Pleasanton, California, to optimize sample preparation for life sciences including DNA sequencing, biodefense, and forensics; an SBIR registry lists the founding year as 2003 with the AKA Microchip Biotechnologies Inc.

Business model

IntegenX sold instrument platforms together with associated consumables (cartridges, reagent and library preparation kits), analysis software, and support, targeting government forensic laboratories and law enforcement agencies. Sources also indicate service and upgrade opportunities around cartridges and consumables for existing installed systems.

Revenue derived from sales of instruments (RapidHIT and Apollo systems), consumables and cartridges, reagent kits, storage products, and related software and support. Reported revenue ranges vary by source, from $5M–$7.5M in one profile to $10M–$25M in another.

Traction

Deployments included the first state-wide rollout of the RapidHIT System with SmallPond at the Arizona Department of Public Safety in May 2014, use of the technology in government laboratories in 17 countries by 2018, and a reported 2015 case in which a Richland County, South Carolina sheriff's office used the technology in an attempted-murder arrest. Reported employee counts range from a 50–74 band in an SBIR registry profile to approximately 20 employees (11–50 band) in a later contact-database profile.

Latest developments

Following the March 2018 acquisition, Thermo Fisher stated that IntegenX's RapidHIT platforms, software analysis tools, and consumables complement its human identification chemistries, qPCR systems, and capillary electrophoresis systems, and that the deal aligns with its strategy to expand its position in the human identification market. One source projects broader global distribution of RapidHIT platforms through Thermo Fisher's channels.