Partnership provides automation and high throughput-ready reagents without cold chain shipping and storage requirements

CORALVILLE, IA – Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), a leading comprehensive genomics solutions provider, has announced a strategic partnership with Argonaut Manufacturing Services (Argonaut), a leading cGMP contract manufacturer and lyophilization provider. Together, they will provide custom lyophilized reagents with the goal of eliminating the need for the cold chain and its associated environmental impact.

The partnership pairs IDT’s comprehensive offering of custom and GMP oligos, CRISPR enzymes, and PCR master mix reagents with Argonaut’s lyophilization (or ‘freeze-drying’) services, custom kitting options, and downstream shipping logistics. The resulting full-service pipeline enables clients to custom-design and order automation- and high throughput-ready GMP lyophilized IDT reagents in a variety of user-friendly formats, including unit-dose beads and multi-well plates. Beads eliminate small-volume pipetting errors and the need for freeze-thaw aliquoting, while lyophilized multi-well plates are ideal for high-throughput sequencing and molecular assay applications. The IDT-Argonaut partnership enables customers to unlock lyophilization advantages with reagents they already use and trust.

Lyophilization provides many benefits to both user experience and the environment. Lyophilized reagents are stable at ambient temperatures, and only require simple rehydration to be ready to use. This eradicates many sources of pipetting errors, while streamlining and simplifying workflows. Elimination of the cold chain reduces costs and carbon footprint, and importantly provides a positive environmental impact by reducing the need for the expanded polystyrene (EPS or ‘Styrofoam’) containers often used to ship temperature-controlled products. EPS is difficult to recycle and bulky for its weight, resulting in large landfill buildup¹.

Mark Nowakowski, Chief Technology Officer at Argonaut and head of its lyophilization program commented, “Lyophilization is changing the way we provide reagents for molecular diagnostics and RUO assays. Not only will lyophilization enable a new wave of shelf-stable assays and point of care diagnostics, it will greatly reduce the impact of the biotechnology supply chain on our planet.”

IDT has an extensive sustainability program, and actively seeks opportunities to reduce its environmental impact and to support sustainability research in areas such as biodiversity and the creation of sustainable energy sources. Partnering with Argonaut provides yet another avenue to deliver a positive environmental impact by removing the need for cold chain and EPS in the shipping and storage of products, while at the same time improving the client experience with IDT’s premier product lines.

Carly Hodges, General Manager of Strategic Business Services at IDT commented, “At IDT we strive to provide the best products and solutions in formats that are most accessible and user-friendly for our customers. We recognized the many advantages that lyophilization will deliver, particularly for OEM and GMP manufacturers, including the positive and important environmental impact of eliminating the cold chain. We are excited to be partnering with Argonaut to offer these services and bring these benefits to our customers.”

For more information, please visit the partnership page or www.idtdna.com.

Follow IDT on twitter @idtdna for real-time updates and insights.

References:

1. www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33334994

About IDT

Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT) develops, manufactures, and markets nucleic acid products for the life sciences industry in the areas of academic and commercial research, agriculture, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical development. IDT has developed proprietary technologies for genomics applications such as next generation sequencing, CRISPR genome editing, synthetic biology, digital PCR, and RNA interference. Through its GMP services, IDT manufactures products used in diagnostic tests for many forms of cancer and most inherited and infectious diseases. IDT is widely recognized as the industry leader in custom nucleic acid manufacture, serving over 120,000 life sciences researchers. IDT has its manufacturing headquarters in Coralville, Iowa, USA, with additional manufacturing sites in San Diego, California, USA; Leuven, Belgium; and Singapore.

About Argonaut Manufacturing Services

Argonaut Manufacturing Services is an ISO 13485:2016 cGMP contract manufacturing organization dedicated to providing custom manufacturing and supply chain solutions for life science, molecular diagnostics, and biopharmaceutical companies. Life Sciences and Molecular Diagnostics services include formulation, filling, lyophilization, and kitting, while biopharmaceutical services feature state-of-the-art automated aseptic fill-finish equipment for sterile injectable drugs. All projects are supported by a full analytical quality control service offering and global shipping logistics. From procurement through pick-pack-ship, Argonaut provides a wide range of flexible solutions for diverse outsourcing needs.