Agnos Biosciences, a new deep tech company backed by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), has launched from the Earlham Institute and the Natural History Museum, London.
It brings to market a powerful new approach to detecting biological threats in the air.
The company’s flagship technology, AirSeq, enables rapid and highly accurate detection of airborne biological material, transforming early pathogen detection.
It combines novel molecular biology, DNA sequencing and bespoke computational analysis to characterise biological particles present in the air.
Wide ranging applications
Unlike existing approaches, AirSeq is unbiased and not limited to known or targeted pathogens.
It can simultaneously detect and quantify thousands of species, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and pollen, with a very low false-positive rate.
This opens up wide-ranging applications across environmental monitoring, agriculture, food manufacturing, cleanroom environments and biosecurity.
Its capabilities have been extensively validated, including through research programmes with the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The power of long-term investment
Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, BBSRC Executive Chair, said:
This exciting spin-out demonstrates the power of long-term BBSRC investment in fundamental bioscience to deliver real-world impact. Agnos Biosciences is translating cutting-edge research into a technology with the potential to strengthen biosecurity, protect public health and support key sectors such as agriculture and food production.
Earlham Institute Group Leader and Agnos Biosciences Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dr Richard Leggett, said:
I’m delighted to launch AirSeq as a service after so many years of research and development. This is an exciting opportunity to use this technology to help new customers with different applications, as well as develop AirSeq’s continued use in agriculture, the wider food industry and in biosecurity.
Fast and accurate detection
Natural History Museum Research Leader and Agnos Biosciences Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Matt Clark, said:
AirSeq is the culmination of many years of research. We are very excited about how fast and accurate it is at detecting pathogens or indeed any organism via their DNA – identifying them in the air enables early, critical interventions hopefully preventing infections and pandemics taking hold.
Fully integrated commercial service
The Earlham Institute and the Natural History Museum are licensing the AirSeq technology to Agnos Biosciences, enabling the company to provide a fully integrated commercial service. This includes:
- air sampling
- laboratory-based DNA extraction and sequencing
- advanced bioinformatics analysis
- web-based visualisation of results
With the core technology now patented, validated and already in use by customers in the UK, Agnos Biosciences is well positioned to scale its impact.
The dual-use spin-out is the first venture to launch from the Natural History Museum’s Strategy and Innovation Unit.
It represents a novel model for translating research from the UK’s culture sector into high-value innovation.
Find out more about Agnos Biosciences.
Further information
The Earlham Institute harnesses data-driven biology to accelerate solutions for health, biodiversity and food security.
The Institute combines world-class technology and interdisciplinary expertise across genomics, engineering biology and data science to deliver scientific breakthroughs with economic and social impact.
Based at Norwich Research Park, the Earlham Institute is one of eight institutes strategically supported by BBSRC.
