FOCUS PHOTONICS WEST
Nanoscale imager wins SPIE Startup Challenge A 3D nanoscale imaging system
designed to speed the drug development process was awarded first prize in the 2016 SPIE Startup Challenge. The annual business pitch competition was held on 17 February during SPIE Photonics West, the international trade fair and conference for optics and photonics technologies. During the live event, six finalists had three minutes in which to deliver their pitches showcasing optics or photonics technologies or applications presented as the basis for viable new businesses. A marijuana breathalyser from Diagnostic anSERS, and a disease diagnostic tool comprising refrigerator magnets and a laser pointer developed by Disease Diagnostic Group, received second and third place respectively. First-place winner, Double Helix of Colorado, pitched a 3D system that can image at the single-molecule level inside individual cells. During her pitch, the company’s co-founder, Leslie Kimerling, said that on average it costs $1 billion and takes 10 years to bring a drug to market, which in part is because pharmaceutical companies have no effective way of observing how a drug interacts. Double Helix’s system can image at the nanoscale level, with 10 times higher resolution than current systems, Kimerling said in her presentation. The device can also be used as an add-on to existing microscopes for around $50,000. Current 3D imaging systems cannot be used with pre-existing microscopes, according to Kimerling, meaning that to achieve high resolution, large and expensive systems have to be purchased, costing up to $500,000.
The Double Helix product has the potential to reduce the time involved in bringing targeted
www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics MARCH 2016 l ELECTRO OPTICS 9
therapies to market by providing early verification and validation of the efficacy of drug therapy mechanisms in action. The company was awarded a $10,000 cash prize, funded by Founding Partner Jenoptik, plus
$5,000 in products from sponsor Edmund Optics.
‘The photonics industry is so exciting because… no matter what market segment, there is potential that the markets will grow by double figures in the
future,’ said Marc Himel, Jenoptik Optical Systems, at the event. ‘Sometimes new companies get [engulfed] by existing businesses; this is why it is important to promote and support startup companies.’
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