GrapheneDx and Sapphiros Enter into Strategic Partnership to Industrialize Graphene-based Biosensors

GrapheneDx is an in vitro diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic capability at the point-of-care and in consumer settings. The company is an expert in functionalizing graphene to create graphene field effect transistors (GFETs), which are biosensors that can be used to detect disease in biological samples. Graphene is a single-atom thick layer of carbon that is renowned for its impressive electrical properties that enable the detection of various biomolecules with great accuracy.

GrapheneDx's medical devices are designed to provide lab-quality accuracy, deliver results in less than 5 minutes and be simple enough to be performed both at the point of care and by patients without the supervision of a medical professional. The company's GFET platform is extremely versatile, demonstrating performance across a variety of disease states (sexually transmitted infections, respiratory disease, cardiac disease, concussion and others) and sample types (stool, urine, swabs, blood, etc.), with little or no sample preparation.

Additionally, the platform is capable of multiplexing numerous analytes concurrently with a single patient sample. GrapheneDx's first tests will be for the diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections, including Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, using a noninvasive, easy to collect urine sample.

"This strategic partnership highlights each partner's core competencies, and will allow GrapheneDx to bring affordable, accurate and timely diagnostics to patients around the world," said Mike Musgnug, CEO of GrapheneDx. "We are thrilled to be partnering with General Graphene and Sapphiros to rapidly scale and commercialize our technology by employing best-in-class tools, processes and know-how."

General Graphene Corp, a leader in the production of graphene at scale, will serve as GrapheneDx's preferred supplier of sheet-based chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene, which will be delivered in a roll-to-roll format for use in Sapphiros's extreme volume manufacturing (EVM) facility. General Graphene Corp has existing annual capacity to supply 100,000 square meters of sheet graphene, a scale greater than any other graphene foundry, with qualities that can successfully drive the development of rapid point-of-care diagnostic medical devices with lab-quality accuracy.

Greg Erickson, CEO of General Graphene, said, "We are the leading foundry for sheet-based CVD graphene, and offer the scale and quality required to support GrapheneDx's plans to rapidly grow their impressive biosensor business."

Sapphiros, a platform company dedicated to building the next generation of consumer diagnostic technologies, will contribute expertise in extreme volume manufacturing (EVM) and commercialization. Sapphiros operates a proprietary, industry-leading reel-to-reel EVM facility for point-of-care and consumer diagnostics, with a capacity of 5 billion tests per year. The EVM facility's capabilities also include printed electronics and printed battery technology to enable low cost, single use disposable diagnostic tests with clear, easy to understand results. Sapphiros's commercial function has deep industry experience and relationships with the largest channel partners.

Mark Gladwell, CEO of Sapphiros, added, "GrapheneDx is an innovator in the diagnostics space, with perhaps the most disruptive diagnostics platform that we have seen. Combined with General Graphene's impressive scale and graphene expertise, Sapphiros will accelerate the industrialization and commercialization of GrapheneDx's biosensor technology."

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