If the test is successful, it could lead to a license allowing Genetics Institute, Inc., to use the technology in its drug discovery program. ATP Gives a Big Boost to a Small Startup BioTraces is a very small company, having only three employees when it started the ATP project. Company officials report that the ATP award enabled BioTraces to achieve its research results two to three years sooner than it otherwise would have been able to do. The funds also helped it develop research alliances and improved its ability to raise investor capital. BioTraces developed MPD instrumentation, both hardware and software, as well as biomedical applications of the technology for enhanced immunoassay, chromatography and nucleic acid analysis.
Commercialization is in progress.
Applications of the technology are underway in the petrochemical field via PetroTraces. Once BioTraces works out a strategy for protecting its intellectual property, the new technology is expected to be disseminated more aggressively. Given its potential use in detecting viruses, bacteria, toxins and pollutants, the ATP-funded technology stands to generate substantial benefits to the economy. If, for example, it were used to detect a toxin in a water supply, preventing a whole town or region from becoming ill, the benefits would be enormous.