DNA Script Secures ARPA-H Funding to Enhance DNA Manufacturing

DNA Script, alongside GE HealthCare, has been granted up to $26 million in funding for a four-year initiative from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This funding will propel the Flexible Automation for Scalable Health (FLASH) program, which is centered on developing scalable cell-free DNA bioproduction capabilities, utilizing DNA Script’s enzymatic DNA synthesis (EDS) technology and SYNTAX® platform.

The FLASH program, spearheaded by GE HealthCare, aims to create a modular, automated platform for the rapid and distributed manufacturing of high-fidelity DNA that could facilitate research and future applications in personalized medicine, vaccines, and various genetic health technologies. DNA Script’s EDS technology is instrumental in achieving this objective by allowing for quicker and more adaptable DNA manufacturing workflows.

As the technical solution integrator for the project, DNA Script is integrating its EDS technology with GE HealthCare’s proprietary DNA scaling technology to ultimately deploy this combined platform across medical research centers, universities, and federal agencies in the U.S. “ARPA-H solutions are designed to address hard problems with bold, practical approaches,” states John Schiel, program manager at ARPA-H. “Projects like FLASH exemplify how scalable, platform-based technologies can transform the way health solutions are developed, produced, and delivered.”

Marc Montserrat, CEO of DNA Script, adds, “Our enzymatic DNA synthesis platform is ideally suited for the on-demand manufacturing model FLASH is pioneering. Collaborating with GE HealthCare on an ARPA-H program of this scale shortens the path from research bench to patient bedside for next-generation therapies, personalized vaccines, and the broader genetic-medicine pipeline.”

John Nelson, senior bioscience principal and FLASH program lead at GE HealthCare’s Technology and Innovation Center, emphasizes, “As personalized and time-sensitive genetic medicines continue to advance, there is a growing need for manufacturing approaches that are faster, more flexible, and more accessible. Our vision for the FLASH program is to develop new DNA-based medicines on demand quickly, safely, and at scale.”

The FLASH program is structured to integrate expertise in automation, DNA synthesis and scaling, purification, and genomic validation, marking a significant step forward in the field of genetic medicine.