Overview

Tm Bioscience is a genomics tools company developing DNA biochips and microarrays for the discovery of new medicines and diagnosis of human disease. Tm Bioscience's Universal Tag product consists of 100 isothermal DNA tags that can be ported to any array platform.

The company's HybAssist consists of three proprietary technologies. First, the Sequence Design Engine is a novel algorithmic method for selecting thousands of DNA probe sequences that share similar thermodynamic properties, while maintaining a high degree of individual capture specificity. Hairpin Capture Probes are designed to increase target capture over linear probes by including a duplex region adjacent to a single-stranded target capture region. The Ligand Controlled Hybridization is a means of controlling hybridization to enhance specificity and limit cross-talk by binding to and stabilizing relatively unstable A-T regions of DNA.

Tm's SignalAssist technology encompasses a mechanism that enhances the signal emanating from a hybridization reaction (usually a fluorescent signal that varies in intensity). Signal Assist works by using either an antibody or oligomer that can both bind to the analyte and to the homopolynucleotides that are used as amplifying entities.

Partners

Tm Bioscience has an agreement with the Ottawa Health Research Institute to validate the prototype coagulation diagnostic microarray developed by Tm Bioscience and discover new clinically relevant coagulation genes. The company also has an agreement with Procrea BioSciences Inc. to explore the feasibility of creating a DNA screen for endometriosis.

The company also licensed its Hairpin Capture Probes technology to Luminex Corp. to develop and commercialize products for use on the Luminex LabMAP system. The company has a partnership with Drug Discovery Ltd. to explore the use of specific DNA-binding compounds developed by DDL in Tm's proprietary DNA hybridization control technologies.