About Us

Prime Synthesis, Inc. was founded in the late 80’s to help meet the challenges of a explosive new area of molecular biology- genomics. Short, synthetic sequences of DNA and RNA called oligonucleotides (oligos) are a key tool for genomics research. The growth projections for the number of oligos needed to support this emerging science seemed astronomical at the time- but have since been far exceeded.

We are proud to have supplied oligo synthesis materials to most of the leading research labs over the years. We have followed this exciting market towards the final goals of genomically based diagnostics and therapeutics. Our research and business efforts have emphasized solid supports, a key class of raw material used in oligo synthesis. Our Prime Performance^TM CPG is a solid support that improves the efficiency of oligo synthesis for both research and production. Our market related growth has enabled us to achieve the economies of scale needed to lower our costs and yours. We are located in Aston, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. Our 30,000 square foot facility houses our research laboratories, production areas, and administrative offices.

Focus on Therapeutic Oligo Synthesis

As the oligo synthesis market continues to change, we look forward to changing as well. Our continuous improvement programs have emphasized process refinements and methods to scale-up our custom solid supports for the growing therapeutic oligo market. However, we also wanted to leverage what we have learned about high efficiency oligo synthesis and make it available to the general oligo research community. To this end, we have formed a division called 3-Prime whose mission is to provide the highest quality solid supports, columns, and other supplies to oligo synthesis research laboratories around the world.

Collaborations

Through collaborations with Drexel University, we have access to an extensive array of the most advanced microscopy and spectroscopy instrumentation, as well as an impressive network of chemistry, materials science, and biomedical consultants.

In 2006 Prime Synthesis began working closely with Integrated DNA technologies (IDT) to fine tune a product line that addresses the oligonucleotide research market. This partnership includes the use of IDT quality control resources to synthesis test the 3-Prime products. Today, 3-Prime offers an impressive array of premium quality standard and custom solid supports and columns. Many customer problems have been solved using the extensive IDT analytical capabilities afforded by this collaboration.

Working closely with SIRNA Pharmaceuticals (currently Merck & Company, Inc.), Prime Synthesis has optimized its CPG for therapeutic RNA oligo synthesis. Part of this optimization includes a proprietary linker chemistry, licensed from Merck under this agreement.

Funded Research

Early Prime Synthesis research efforts were awarded two rounds of funding from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners Emerging Growth program in both 1992 and 1994.  This work allowed the study of CPG characteristics and nucleoside attachment chemistry  to develop the optimum solid supports for oligonucleotide synthesis and large scale manufacturing capabilities.

 In 2009 we were awarded an SBIR Phase I grant from the National Institutes of Health for a project which will define our next generation of oligo synthesis supports. This work has resulted in both a patent application and a pending Phase II SBIR proposal.

Our next generation project was also awarded funds from the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Program, as part of the Health Care Reduction Act. Funding was provided for both 2009 and 2010 research expenditures, based on the healthcare cost-saving potential of this work.