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RainDance Technologies Selected as a World Economic Forum Technology PioneerGUILDFORD, Conn. --(Business Wire)-- RainDance Technologies has been selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. Technology Pioneers were nominated by the world's leading technology experts and final selection from 273 nominees was made by a panel of leading technology experts. Technology Pioneers are invited to participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland Dr. Jonathan M. Rothberg, co-founder and chairman of RainDance Technologies was selected to represent RainDance as a 2008 Technology Pioneer at Davos this year. "We started RainDance with an amazing group of co-founders and advisors with the mission to have a profound impact on the way life science research is undertaken, we wanted to create the laboratory equivalent of the personal computer", said Dr. Rothberg. "Our vision "A RainDance Professional Laboratory System in every lab" has attracted an active scientific advisory board including three Nobel Prize winners. It is great to have RainDance recognized by the World Economic Forum as a company with the potential to change people's lives - to improve the way people do research from fields as diverse as the life sciences and bio-energy." While RainDance has affected the way it's academic and industrial partners do research, RainDance is now focused on delivering its products to the world's market in 2008. RainDance designed the Professional Laboratory System (PLS) to be the biochemical equivalent of a personal computer. The key to this innovation is the novel combination of microdroplets and microfluidics to create and route digital packets of biochemical information called NanoReactors. The PLS is a versatile lab-on-chip, able to perform laboratory functions at speeds and complexities not possible with existing instruments. Like a computer manipulates bits of information, the PLS enables the programmable handling of fluid samples for innovative assay and screening applications. Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership, show all the signs of being a long-standing market leader - and its technology must be proven. Previous Technology Pioneers have included Business Objects, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Corel Corporation, Encore Software, Google, Mozilla Corporation and Napster. Twenty-three of the Technology Pioneers 2008 are US-based companies. Israel and the United Kingdom each boast three; Sweden and Switzerland two each; Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands and Russia, one each. Technology Pioneers are nominated in three main categories: Energy/Environment, Biotechnology/Health and Information Technology. "This year the World Economic Forum received a record number of applications from companies around the world to become a Technology Pioneer. From a highly competitive field, we are extremely pleased to have a community that is using innovation and technology to dramatically affect the way society and business operate and doing so in a markedly collaborative manner. We are excited to welcome the Technology Pioneers class of 2008 to the larger community of the World Economic Forum and we are looking forward to the fruits that their collaboration will bring," said Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. About Dr. Jonathan Rothberg Dr. Rothberg was born in 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. in biology from Yale University. Most recently Dr. Rothberg completed the first sequence of an individual human being (James D. Watson) and initiated the Neanderthal Genome project. Dr. Rothberg is the founder of 454 Life Science, Clarifi Corporation, CuraGen Corporation, , Ion Torrent Systems, The Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases, and the co-founder and Chairman of RainDance Technologies. Dr. Rothberg was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the receipt of The Wall Street Journal's Gold Medal for Innovation for his invention of 454 sequencing, and The Irvington Institute's Corporate Leadership Award in Science. His scientific work has been featured on the covers of Cell, Science, and Nature. Dr. Rothberg's invention of the first new way to sequence DNA on a chip - 454 Sequencing, has been instrumental in work as diverse as solving the mystery behind the disappearance of the honey bee and unlocking the complexity of the world's ecosystems. Dr. Rothberg is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and serves on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University. About RainDance Technologies RainDance Technologies, Inc. is a nanotechnology company devoted to developing and commercializing the Professional Laboratory System, a platform for droplet-based microfluidics. The Professional Laboratory System is an integrated fluid handling system that provides precise manipulation of minute amounts of fluids for a variety of industrial and research applications within genomic, drug discovery, industrial enzyme development, and molecular diagnostic markets. At the core of the system's power are assay-specific NanoReactor chips composed of fluid handling modules that encapsulate samples and reactants in individual micron-sized droplets. Founded in 2004 by scientists from Harvard University, the Medical Research Centre in Cambridge, and the ESPCI in Paris, RainDance Technologies designed the Professional Laboratory System to enable a host of nanoscale assays including cell-based and single molecule experiments. Samples (cells, beads, DNA templates, chemical compounds) and reactants are encapsulated in individual micron-sized droplets on assay-specific NanoReactor chips. With each droplet being the equivalent of a well in a microtiter plate, the Professional Laboratory System can process and analyze up to 10,000 samples per second with unparalleled accuracy. The precise manipulation of minute amounts of fluids within NanoReactor droplets will benefit a variety of industrial and research applications, including DNA sequencing preparation, enzyme engineering, functional cell sorting, multiplex PCR, SNP detection, gene expression, and RNAi functional assays. The promise of this technology has attracted an outstanding Scientific Advisory Board, including three Nobel Prize winners (Jean-Marie Lehn, Sir Aaron Klug, and Dr. Richard Roberts) and Sir Gregory Winter. For more information, please visit http://www.raindancetechnologies.com. About the World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org) CONTACT: Corporate questions: Janet Verney, +1-203-458-2947 x 201,; or Technical questions: Jeremy Lambert,+1-203-458-2947 x 236, , both of RainDance Technologies [email protected] [email protected] Notes to Editors: -- Go to http://www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2008 for the entire list of Technology Pioneers and interviews with the selected companies. For more specific information, please e-mail: [email protected]. -- Download print-quality high resolution photographs of the participants from the selected companies at: http://www.pbase.com/forumweb/techpioneers2008 |
