BioDiscovery LLC, Ann Arbor

As Featured in the Vol. 6 No. 5 Fall/Winter 2008

To understand the basics of a new start-up company in Ann Arbor, one needs to be familiar with a few scientific terms.

• “Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)” is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms.
• “Gene expression" is a term used to describe the transcription of the information contained within DNA.
• A microarray is a tool for analyzing gene expression that consists of a small membrane or glass slide containing samples of many genes arranged in a regular pattern.

University of Michigan Chemical Engineering professor, Dr. Erdogan Gulari, heads a new biotech company called BioDiscovery that is developing a new way to make microarrays or biochips for medical diagnosis and discovery.

Biochips or microarrays have revolutionized medical research by making it possible to analyze the expression levels of tens of thousands of genes simultaneously with a small sample containing no more than 10 micrograms of DNA. “This is technically called gene expression, and the proteins produced by the genes either help us or sometimes cause diseases such as cancer,” said Dr Gulari. “So by looking at how the genes are functioning, we can understand the genetic quality of diseases as well as the response of our bodies to treatment. Our biochips allow screening of ten of thousands of genes for a relatively low cost and create of picture of how the body is functioning, what it has inherited and what the future problems may be.”

Genes and genetic assemblies can cost thousands of dollars to make in the lab, but BioDiscovery has developed a way to make the materials for genes on a microchip in mass quantities, for a fraction of the cost. Commercialized three years ago, BioDiscovery is starting to take its research to market and Dr. Gulari credits the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) 21st Century Jobs Fund award as a catalyst for growth. “We didn’t want our ideas taken to the east or west coasts by venture capitalists so we decided to form a company and keep the development in Michigan,” said Dr. Gulari. “Without the MEDC funding we would have been on a much slower path. It was the primary thing to help us get the company off the ground.”

BioDiscovery employs six people and has recently launched a Web site to market and sell their products to university researchers and medical diagnostic labs. Mycroarray.com offers a catalog of DNA microarrays for more than 700 organisms. While this might not be the type of catalog for Christmas shoppers, Dr. Gulari hopes sales will help his biotech company grow and prosper in Michigan.