Active Motif Incorporated, a company with the vision of bringing epigenetics more deeply into precision medicine, announced that it has purchased Amaryllis Nucleics, a Bay Area-based start-up company focused on proprietary RNA Sequencing methods.

Amaryllis Nucleics provides Active Motif with a streamlined, low-cost library preparation method to perform high-efficiency RNA sequencing using their intellectual property associated with 3′ Digital Gene Expression. The technology utilizes a novel synthesis chemistry that is twice as fast from RNA to library prep compared to other methods, is less expensive, and shows greater than 99% strand-specificity. Amaryllis’ service business as well as their 3′ DGE RNA Library Prep Kit will be integrated into the Active Motif portfolio.

Dr. Brad Townsley, co-inventor and co-owner of Amaryllis Nucleics stated, “We are excited to join forces with Active Motif to demonstrate and promote the full value of our RNA sequencing technology that leverages our 3 prime tagging strategy. Our technology is well suited for Differential Gene Expression (DGE) as well as for discovery projects and high throughput screening projects where RNA is being assessed for SNP genotyping and other relevant variants. Amaryllis Nucleics has been providing customers an end-to-end solution with shorter turn-around times from RNA to library prep with complete data analysis at a lower cost per sample compared to whole transcriptome sequencing approaches for RNASeq.”

Active Motif has begun the transition of both the kit manufacturing as well as the custom service business of Amaryllis Nucleics while keeping business continuity with the existing Amaryllis customer base. “We feel as if we have identified a novel, highly differentiated method for interrogating RNA that will fit nicely into our portfolio and aid us in the enablement and advancement of precision medicine” noted Ted DeFrank, President and CEO of Active Motif.

Details about Amaryllis Nucleics 3’DGE RNA sequencing products and services can be found at https://amaryllisnucleics.com