Mekonos

Mekonos is a life sciences company, founded in 2016 by Anil Narasimha, Steven Banerjee, and Greg Sitters, that is positioned at the intersection of semiconductor technology and cellular biology. The company is developing a proprietary platform for ex-vivo cell engineering, addressing critical bottlenecks in the production of cell and gene therapies.

The company's core technology, a system-on-a-chip (SoC), integrates microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microfluidics, and chemistry to enable the precise delivery of molecular payloads, such as CRISPR, into individual cells. This is accomplished using a chip with an array of controllable silicon nanoneedles that physically inject cargo into single cells that have been trapped and isolated by a microfluidic chip. A key feature is the proprietary surface chemistry on the solid nanoneedles, which facilitates the attraction of the payload to the needle's surface and its subsequent release once inside the cell. This method offers a high degree of control and scalability, allowing for the parallel processing of thousands of cells. The entire process, from cell loading to collection, takes only minutes.

The founding of Mekonos stemmed from the complementary expertise of its founders. Anil Narasimha, the CEO, is a scientist with a background in molecular biology and personalized medicine from his research at UC San Diego and a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. His experience highlighted the challenges in delivering molecules into cells, which sparked the idea for a more precise, automated solution. Co-founder Steven Banerjee, a mechanical engineer, brought his expertise in nanoneedles to the partnership. The company has secured significant financial backing, including a $4.6 million financing round in November 2020 led by Novartis and an oversubscribed $25 million Series A round in November 2021. This funding has been instrumental in advancing product development and expanding commercial partnerships.

Mekonos operates within the rapidly growing cell and gene therapy market, serving pharmaceutical companies and cell therapy research groups. Its business model revolves around providing this enabling technology through commercial partnerships and collaborations to accelerate the discovery and development of new therapies. The company has engaged in pilot projects and partnerships with top pharmaceutical firms, demonstrating high cell viability and efficient payload delivery into various cell types, including fragile immune and stem cells. By offering an alternative to traditional viral vector delivery methods, Mekonos aims to solve a critical pain point in a field that has seen limited innovation in delivery technology for over two decades.

Keywords: cell engineering, gene therapy, silicon nanoneedles, microfluidics, system-on-a-chip, molecular delivery, ex-vivo, personalized medicine, CRISPR delivery, MEMS technology, non-viral delivery, cell therapy manufacturing, single-cell injection, drug delivery systems, synthetic biology, biotech platform, iPSC reprogramming, oncology, regenerative medicine, biomanufacturing