H6*
DrugSeq Solutions - A First-In-Class Single-Cell Sequencing Platform
Dr Violaine Goidts, German Cancer Research Center; Dr Mona Göttmann, German Cancer Research Center; Dr Obada Alhalabi, n.a.; Dr Emma Phillips, German Cancer Research Center
DKFZ
Challenge
Over 90% of drug candidates fail during development, often because early models cannot capture cellular heterogeneity, drug penetration, or emerging resistance. Current assays cannot distinguish whether a drug fails because it does not reach all target cells or because those cells are intrinsically resistant. This blind spot leads to late-stage failures, high development costs, and ineffective therapies—particularly in oncology, where resistance often arises from small cellular subpopulations.
Technology
DrugSeq Solutions is a first-in-class single-cell sequencing platform that directly links intracellular drug uptake with functional molecular response in the same cell. Existing drug-response assays can measure downstream effects but cannot determine whether a drug actually entered each individual cell. DrugSeq Solutions overcomes this limitation using a proprietary chemical strategy in which small-molecule drugs are temporarily linked to short DNA barcodes via cleavable linkers. These linkers are stable extracellularly but cleave inside the cell, releasing the drug in its native, active form while leaving the DNA tag as a traceable record of drug entry—without altering drug activity. Combined with standard single-cell transcriptomics, the platform enables cell-resolved pharmacology, revealing which cells take up a drug, which respond, and which resist treatment. It is compatible with existing single-cell sequencing workflows and requires no new hardware, enabling straightforward adoption.
Commercial Opportunity
DrugSeq Solutions addresses a major bottleneck in pharmaceutical and biotech R&D: the inability to determine early whether a drug fails due to insufficient cellular uptake or true biological resistance. This uncertainty drives late-stage termination, inefficient resource allocation, and missed opportunities to optimize promising compounds. By providing single-cell–resolved insight into drug uptake and response, DrugSeq Solutions enables earlier go/no-go decisions, improved candidate prioritization, and more informed mechanism-of-action and resistance studies. While initially focused on oncology, the technology is broadly applicable across therapeutic areas. Market entry is planned through high-value, service-based pilot projects with pharma, biotech, and translational partners, generating early validation and reference datasets. These activities support the development of DrugSeq Solutions’s scalable core product: a standardized research-use-only (RUO) kit that allows customers to run experiments in-house using existing single-cell sequencing infrastructure. At scale, revenues are driven by RUO kit sales, complemented by licensing and strategic partnerships.
Development Status
The technology is at TRL 5, with a validated prototype tested in relevant biological models using real drugs. DrugSeq Solutions has demonstrated value in oncology case studies, including resistance to temozolomide and palbociclib in glioblastoma and breast cancer, and drug uptake of venetoclax and decitabine in AML. Academic pilot projects are ongoing. A spin-out is foreseen for early 2027, supported by a planned EXIST Forschungstransfer application.
Patent Situation
The core technology is protected by an international patent application (PCT/EP2025/082572), covering the drug-tagging chemistry, cleavable linker concept, and sequencing-based readout. The IP is owned by DKFZ, with an exclusive license to the future spin-out planned. Remaining patent life is approximately 18–19 years.
Further Reading
