Hello! We are Depixus®
Introducing our work
Depixus® is undertaking commercial development of a technology for the fast, accurate, and inexpensive extraction of genetic and epigenetic information from single molecules of DNA and RNA. The technology is known as MAGNA™ (SIngle-molecule Magnetic DEtection and Quantification). It was initially developed in the laboratory of Vincent Croquette, David Bensimon, and Jean-François Allemand at École Normale Supérieure (ENS), one of France’s leading ‘grandes écoles’.
MAGNA™ has a wide range of potential applications across the life-science and medical industries. Using the MAGNA™ platform, it will be possible to identify, count, fully sequence, and epitype many millions of individual molecules of DNA at a high speed and accuracy. Substantial validation of our technology has already been completed and the first steps towards platform optimisation and commercialisation are underway.
Management Team
Dr. Gordon Hamilton MA MBBS MBA
Gordon is the CEO of Depixus. He brings experience of translational research and bioscience commercialization having worked as Medical Director for ChemoCentryx, a successful Silicon Valley biopharmaceutical company. He has previously also founded and built-up The Electives Network Ltd, an international medical education company. He has a First Class Master’s degree in Physiological Sciences from the University of Oxford, a medical degree from Imperial College School of Medicine, and an MBA from INSEAD.
Dr. Chas André BA PhD
Chas has over 17 years of experience successfully bringing life science tools to market with companies such as Applied Biosystems, MJ Research; BioRad, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. He graduated from The University of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in biology, and earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Stanford University. He has overseen the launch of dozens of products in the PCR, qPCR and DNA sequencing sectors, including instruments, consumables, and software, with a particular focus on applications and system integration.
Senior R&D Team
Jimmy Ouellet PhD
Jimmy leads Depixus’ molecular biology activities. He has more than 15 years of research experience in areas spanning molecular biology, cell biology, oncology, and live microscopy. Jimmy has a PhD in biology from McGill University (Montréal, Canada) and did his post-doctoral training at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Zürich Switzerland). Before joining Depixus in early 2015, he worked in the “Laboratoire de Physique Statistique” (LPS) of École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Here he was a member of the research group of Vincent Croquette, David Bensimon, and Jean-Francois Allemand, Depixus’ academic founders.
Hua Bai MSc CEng
Hua has been leading Depixus’ micro-electronics and MEMS activities since he joined the company in November 2015. He has a degree in Electronics Science & Technology from Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST) in China, and an MSc in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Imperial College London. Mr. Bai started his career as one of the very early employees of DNA Electronics, UK company that pioneered the field of semiconductor-based detection and sequencing of DNA. He has also worked at a large medical device manufacturer Elekta, where he worked as electronic system technical lead on the development of a complex new Image Guided Radiotherapy machine for cancer treatment.
Pol d’Avezac PhD
Pol has been leading the data science effort for Depixus since joining the company in April 2016. He holds an engineering degree and a Ph.D. in particle physics from the Ecole Polytechnique. Since then, he has worked as a data scientist and R&D computer engineer, acquiring experience within both startups and multinational companies, in fields ranging from heavy process industries to medical instrumentation and geophysics.
Thibault Vieille PhD
Board Members
John Berriman
John Berriman is the Chairman of ReNeuron Group plc (listed on AIM) and Autifony Therapeutics Ltd; and past Chairman of Heptares Therapeutics Ltd (sold to Sosei in February 2015) and Algeta ASA (listed on the Oslo stock exchange and sold to Bayer AG in March 2014). He is also a non-executive director of Autolus Ltd. Until its sale to Amgen in the spring of 2012 he was a director of Micromet Inc. (listed on NASDAQ). Previously he was a director of Cytos AG (listed on the SIX Swiss exchange) and Abingworth Management, an international healthcare venture capital firm, where he was involved in founding, financing and serving as a director of several biotechnology companies in Europe and the USA – many of which obtained listings on public stock exchanges. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with Celltech Group plc and was a member of its Board when it listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1994. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a Masters degree from the London Business School. In addition to the positions mentioned above, he was a founder and the first chairman of Solexa Ltd (now owned by Illumina Inc) the company which developed the DNA sequencing technology which is the dominant method of gene sequencing today.
Edward Rayner
Edward Rayner is an Investment Director at Arix Bioscience, a global healthcare and life science company focused on generating value from the development and commercialisation of innovative technologies. Before joining Arix at its inception, Ed spent 18 years as an Equity Analyst and Portfolio Manager in Europe and Australia. From 2004-2014, he was Head of Research at AllianceBernstein and then a Senior Portfolio Manager at AMP Capital, both in Sydney Australia. At AMP Capital, a leading Australian investment house with over A$130bn in funds under management, he managed the Growth Equity portfolios and launched a Small Companies fund. As part of his responsibilities he focused on the Healthcare sector. Prior to his move to Australia, Ed analysed European equities at UBS Asset Management and JP Morgan Investment Management. He gained an MA in Chemistry and MSc in Management at the University of Oxford and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Ronald Lindsay
Dr Ronald Lindsay is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Zebra Biologics, Inc., a company developing a disruptive new antibody generating platform. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning at Sequenom Inc, a company that pioneered the use of next generation sequencing for non-invasive prenatal diagnostics. Prior to Sequenom, Dr Lindsay held a variety of senior biopharmaceutical positions, directing discovery and preclinical research efforts in cancer, neuroscience, and genomics. He has served as Vice President, Research and Development, and Chief Science Officer of diaDexus, Inc; has been a Senior Advisor at the German venture capital fund TVM Capital GmbH; was a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Merck Serono S.A, has held various senior management roles with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc; and was a co-founder of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today a pharmaceutical company with a market capitalisation of ~$40bn. He began his industry career as Head of Cell Biology at the Sandoz Institute for Medical Research, University College in London. He has authored over 150 scientific articles and was recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the most highly cited neuroscientists of the 1990's. He is also the holder of multiple patents. He has Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Calgary and a B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow.
Investors
Angel Investors
Depixus has strong backing from a group of very experienced angel investors, several of whom are veterans of the sequencing industry.
Other
The company is also supported financially via a variety of other partnerships, grants, and awards
Venture Capital
Arix Bioscience Limited is a global healthcare and life science company. Headquartered in London and with an office in New York, Arix Bioscience sources and develops businesses addressing medical innovation at all stages of development and is supported with access to breakthrough academic science.
