Atum is a biotechnology company based in California, USA, that integrates gene design, optimization, and synthesis, along with expression vectors, protein, and strain engineering production platforms.
Over the past 21 years, Atum has provided high-quality and efficient services to life science researchers, including but not limited to gene design and synthesis, protein engineering, protein production, antibody services, cell line development, and master cell banks (MCB). This has facilitated the transition of biology from exploration and discovery to engineered production, accelerating technological breakthroughs and research progress in the life sciences.
Deeply rooted for 21 years, becoming one of the largest providers of synthetic genes for industrial and academic purposes in the U.S.
In 2003, Atum was founded by four PhDs—Claes Gustafsson, Jeremy Minshull, Sridhar Govindarajan, and Jon Ness. Before founding Atum, they all worked at Maxygen, a biopharmaceutical company, bringing decades of management and technical experience, which played a crucial role in Atum's technological research and product development. For example, Dr. Sridhar Govindarajan’s research on protein folding and evolution laid the foundation for Atum’s core technology.
Initially named DNA 2.0, Atum started as a gene synthesis and protein engineering supplier. Leveraging its expertise in DNA design and synthesis, it developed an integrated solution for the academic, governmental, pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, and biotechnology industries. Atum also developed a codon design and optimization algorithm, now patented as GeneGPS, which optimizes gene expression in any host organism, enhancing gene expression efficiency in specific host cells. In 2009, this technology was recognized as one of The Scientist’s Top 10 Innovations in Life Sciences.
As Atum's core technology gained industry recognition, it fostered other collaborations in gene synthesis. In 2009, Atum co-founded the International Gene Synthesis Consortium (IGSC) with companies like Aclid, Aldevron, and Ansa Biotechnologies, aiming to enhance cooperation to prevent and address biosafety issues arising from the rapid development of gene synthesis. IGSC members, including Azenta Life Sciences, BGI, Genscript, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, represent a significant portion of global commercial gene synthesis capacity.
Through 21 years of development, Atum has built a comprehensive and integrated bioengineering solution based on its machine learning platform, proprietary algorithms, and fully integrated Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). This platform covers all aspects from DNA design and synthesis optimization to protein production and GMP cell line development.
Atum currently serves clients worldwide in academic, governmental, pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, and biotech sectors. According to incomplete statistics, over 1,200 scientific papers have been published using its products and services. Today, Atum has become one of the largest suppliers of synthetic genes for industrial and academic purposes in the U.S.
Building a fully integrated bioengineering solution centered around three major technology platforms
Over the past 21 years, Atum has continuously integrated biotechnology with AI and other innovative technologies, developing cutting-edge platforms that accelerate the commercialization of life science tools and services. At present, Atum’s core platforms include GPS technology, Leap-In Transposase®, and discoCHO™, with several patents protecting these technologies.
Atum's GPS platform integrates Design of Experiments (DoE), precise empirical measurements, and machine learning tools. Essentially, GPS follows the Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) iterative cycle strategy of synthetic biology to design and create new variants from the ground up. According to the company's website, GPS works like a satellite system with broad applications in various aspects of bioengineering, including vector and gene optimization for specific hosts, protein engineering for developing biocatalysts, and antibody humanization and affinity maturation.
Currently, the GPS technology platform is a key differentiator for Atum’s products and services. Around this core technology, Atum has developed three sub-platforms: VectorGPS®, ProteinGPS®, and AntibodyGPS®, which further optimize the expression of genes, proteins, and antibodies in host organisms.
Leap-In Transposase® technology is a comprehensive solution that combines Atum’s proprietary recoding algorithms, unique genetic vector elements, and transposon-based mechanisms. It efficiently inserts genetically stable elements into genomes, enabling the rapid, robust, and high-quality production of protein drugs. Notably, Leap-In Transposase® eliminates the risk of rearrangement or tandem repeats in expression constructs, maintains the structural integrity of integration sequences, and facilitates gene co-expression.
In August 2024, Atum launched the CHO-K1-based cell line discoCHO™ for transient protein production. The discoCHO™ line, optimized through gene editing and cell engineering, achieves robust transient therapeutic protein expression with key quality attributes similar to Atum’s existing CHO-K1 manufacturing cell line, miCHO-GS. discoCHO™ offers high expression performance, stability, and scalability, and can seamlessly integrate with the miCHO-GS platform for stable biologics production, expediting drug development and minimizing risks.
Atum has also developed several free software tools. For example, the bioinformatics software package Gene Designer allows molecular biologists to design, clone, and validate genetic sequences. DNA ATLAS, a plasmid mapping tool, displays features such as promoters, markers, restriction sites, and open reading frames in any DNA vector sequence. Atum's online Bioinformatics Toolbox was named “Best of the Web” by Genetic Engineering News.
With multiple technology platforms, Atum has created a fully integrated bioengineering solution that provides tools and services covering gene sequence design and synthesis, early-stage protein production and analysis, and cell line and GMP master cell bank development. This facilitates the transition of research results from the laboratory to commercial applications.
Expanding through investments and partnerships to broaden the application boundaries of synthetic biology technology
While innovating its technology and launching new life science tools and solutions, Atum has also expanded its business and application boundaries in synthetic biology through external investments and partnerships with other innovative companies in the field.
In terms of external investments, in June 2022, Atum participated in the $21 million Series A funding round for Vernal Biosciences, a CDMO company specializing in gene editing. Vernal provides mRNA and LNP-mRNA manufacturing services to advance mRNA drug development and production.
In April 2023, the biopharmaceutical outsourcing company Wheeler Bio announced the completion of a $31 million Series A funding round, with Atum as one of the investors. The funds will support the construction of CGMP cell banks and API manufacturing facilities.
Regarding external partnerships, Atum actively collaborates with companies in the synthetic biology application sector. In September 2023, Atum announced an expanded collaboration with biopharmaceutical company Anagram Therapeutics to jointly advance oral enzyme therapies for malabsorption and nutrient metabolism disorders by combining Atum’s core technology strengths with Anagram’s research expertise.
Atum has also actively promoted the external licensing of its core technology, such as the Leap-In Transposase® platform. In April 2022, Atum established a distribution partnership with TranSino Bio in China to promote Leap-In Transposase® in the production of protein drugs, viral vectors, and cell therapies in Chinese pharmaceutical companies. To date, several pharmaceutical companies globally have entered into licensing agreements for the Leap-In Transposase® platform, and over ten drug candidates using this technology have had their IND applications approved by regulatory agencies.
According to McKinsey, synthetic biology could generate an annual direct economic impact of $2 trillion to $4 trillion globally over the next 10-20 years, with healthcare and pharmaceutical applications accounting for 35% (approximately $0.5 trillion to $1.3 trillion). By 2025, the economic value of synthetic biology and biomanufacturing is expected to reach $100 billion. As the synthetic biology industry thrives, the demand for tools in this field will continue to grow.
The core of synthetic biology lies in precise control and programming of biological components to create biological entities that perform specific tasks. Therefore, advances in enabling technologies like DNA synthesis, sequencing, and editing are key to the progress of synthetic biology. In the future, as these enabling technologies continue to evolve, along with the deeper integration of AI, machine learning, and synthetic biology, the precision and efficiency of biological design will improve, driving the application and development of synthetic biology across various fields.