Entrepreneurship

Bridging the Gap: SKIPPIT’s Path to Commercial Gene Control

SKIPPIT delivers tunable translational control for multi-protein systems, bridging synthetic biology innovation with market-ready solutions.

Adjustable ratios, modular design, high precision.

The SKIPPIT platform moves beyond academic innovation to address a critical market demand, positioning itself as a high-value, patentable enterprise within the rapidly expanding synthetic biology and gene therapy sectors.

Our focus is on solving a persistent problem in biotechnology: the lack of precise and rapid control of protein expression in complex biological systems.

Problem & Market Need

The Problem: The Limits of Transcriptional Control

The biotech industry relies heavily on transcriptional control methods (e.g., inducible promoters, CRISPRi, RNAi). As highlighted in our research, these methods are often flawed:

Diagram illustrating the flaws of Transcriptional Control and its lack of speed
Figure 2. Conceptual Diagram: Limitations of Transcription (Slow, Leaky, Fixed Ratios)
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The Solution: Translational Precision

SKIPPIT introduces a disruptive solution through translational control via novel RNA switches based on Stop Codon Readthrough (SCR).

Our proprietary innovation lies in the development of unique SCR sequences and designed constructs that act as molecular rheostats. These elements allow Dual, Differential Protein Expression from a single mRNA transcript, achieving a level of precision and modularity unmatched in current market solutions.

SKIPPIT's Core Competitive Features

Feature Description
Adjustable Expression Ratios The ability to “choose your own expression ratio” (e.g., Protein 1 at 50% and Protein 2 at 10%). No commercial system offers this degree of translational control.
Modular Design The SCRs and constructs are compatible across systems, simplifying design for researchers and industry partners.
High Precision Wet-lab results demonstrate consistent readthrough levels up to 14%, enabling fine-tuned regulation of complex pathways.
Table 1. Key features of the SKIPPIT platform and their value proposition to the market.

Market Pain Points and Stakeholders

Diagram showing SKIPPIT's target market segments and key stakeholders
Figure 3. The target market segments for SKIPPIT: Synthetic Biology, Industrial Biotechnology, and Gene Therapy, and their respective pain points.

Market Sizing

Market Opportunity

Global Market

  • Synthetic Biology, RNA Therapeutics.
  • Target: To become the underlying technology for fundamental multi-protein expression.

TADPOLE Niche

  • RNA switch design, Educational and open-access focus.
  • Target: Establish community adoption and viral marketing of the core technology.

Market Size

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Global Synthetic Biology and Genetic Engineering Tools Market. Represents the totality of demand for products and services in our sector.

Estimated Market (2025-2030): $15−20 Billion USD

Primary Mission and Purpose

  • Education focus, Market positioning.
  • Purpose: To decouple multi-protein expression from slow, costly transcriptional methods.

Key Value Differentiator

SKIPPIT’s strength lies in transforming a complex molecular process into a simple, tunable, and scalable solution for precise protein expression.

Where existing tools stop at transcription, SKIPPIT redefines control at the translational level: faster, cleaner, and patentable.

Diagram showing SKIPPIT's key value differentiator: speed, precision, and tunability versus existing methods.
Figure 4. Visualizing SKIPPIT's core value: moving control from the transcriptional level (slow) to the translational level (fast and tunable).

Competitive Landscape

SKIPPIT competes against existing co-expression tools by addressing the uneven co-expression problem through precise translational control.

EXISTING SOLUTIONS VS. SKIPPIT's ADVANTAGE

Transcriptional Control Rivals

Competitor Examples

  • Inducible Promoters (Tet-On/Off)
  • Tandem Promoters

SKIPPIT's Advantage

Superior Kinetics & Modularity: SKIPPIT regulates post-transcriptionally, ensuring faster responses and avoiding promoter interference.

Translational Control Rivals

Competitor Examples

  • IRES (Internal Ribosome Entry Sites)
  • 2A Self-Cleaving Peptides

SKIPPIT's Advantage

Differential & Defined Ratios: 2A peptides yield near-1:1 ratios, while SKIPPIT enables adjustable, pre-determined expression levels. IRES performance remains unpredictable and context-dependent.

SKIPPIT provides a unique solution for researchers and companies requiring precise translational control in multi-component systems, a feature absent from current market standards.

IP & R&D Foundation

Our intellectual property is built upon rigorous research and development cycles that resulted in unique parts and a proprietary design method, ensuring the project's patentability. The parts we developed and characterized are not published on iGEM, maintaining their novelty and commercial exclusivity.

Diagram showing SKIPPIT's Intellectual Property Strategy, focusing on novel parts and proprietary design methods.
Figure 5. SKIPPIT's Intellectual Property Strategy, focusing on novel parts and proprietary design methods.

A. Patentable Assets

Patent 1 — The Product (SCR Sequences & Constructs)

The specific, novel DNA/RNA SCR sequences and linkers we developed confer precise, differential readthrough levels. Our work on fusing elements, validated by the successful functionality of our linkers in cell-free systems, establishes the viability of these proprietary parts.

Patent 2 — The Method (Use of SCR)

A method for achieving specific, pre-determined differential expression ratios between two proteins using our proprietary SCR elements. This methodology defines SKIPPIT’s translational control precision and its scalability for both research and therapeutic applications.

Patent 3 — The Platform (TADPOLE, The R&D Engine)

Our proprietary automated computational methods, developed during the SCR-D structure prediction cycle, rapidly analyze and design functional RNA elements. This R&D tool represents the engine that generates new, patentable SCRs, forming the foundation of SKIPPIT’s competitive advantage.

B. Value Derived from the DBTL Cycle

Failure as IP Driver

The initial challenges with SCR-D structure prediction (DBTL Cycle 1) led to the creation of a proprietary co-evolutionary analysis tool. This tool is now a patentable R&D asset, ensuring faster and more reliable SCR design.

The Pivot to Commercial Advantage

The shift from the inconsistent SCR-D to the highly structure-dependent SECIS element (DBTL Cycle 2), along with cell-free validation of our linkers, confirmed the functionality of our proprietary products, demonstrating both adaptability and a focus on commercial-grade robustness.

Product Expansion

The development of Aptamer-Controlled SCRs (SECIS-Aptamer fusions) establishes a path for a premium product line offering not only ratio control but also inducible, time-sensitive control, a significant opportunity in precision therapeutics.

TADPOLE: R&D Engine and Open-Source Contribution

A. R&D Asset: Intellectual Property & Commercial Advantage

The TADPOLE platform is the proprietary computational backbone driving the rapid design and optimization of SKIPPIT’s SCR sequences. It originated as a solution to the structural prediction challenges identified during DBTL Cycle 1 (SCR-D system) and now serves as both an IP-protected R&D asset and a commercial differentiator.

TADPOLE Strategic Value

Feature Strategic Value IP Connection
Co-Evolutionary Analysis Rapidly identifies highly functional and stable RNA switch sequences. Foundation for the Patent of Platform: the core R&D engine.
Linker Design Pipeline Integrates linker generation, OFF-state prediction, and ranking into a cohesive workflow. Enables faster, more reliable design of new, patentable SKIPPIT parts, reducing R&D risk.

Key Takeaway: TADPOLE accelerates the design of new, highly efficient SCRs, securing SKIPPIT’s competitive edge in translational control technology. Its exclusive use or licensing constitutes a major commercial advantage.

B. Open Science & Educational Contribution

In alignment with iGEM’s principles of collaboration and accessibility, TADPOLE also functions as an open-science initiative and educational tool.

  • Open-Access Code: The TADPOLE platform will be released under an open license (e.g., MIT License) to empower future iGEM teams and the academic community.
  • Educational Focus: The platform’s documentation and case studies act as a tutorial on integrating computational and experimental (DBTL) workflows in synthetic biology entrepreneurship.

Disclaimer

TADPOLE is presented as a case study demonstrating SKIPPIT’s R&D and market positioning strategy. While the code is openly accessible, the intellectual property and commercial value remain centered on the sequences and methods developed through the platform (SKIPPIT).

Commercialization Strategy

Business Model Canvas

Our Business Model Canvas highlights how we transform our translational control technology into scalable value for both academia and industry.

SKIPPIT's Business Model Canvas outlining key partners, activities, value propositions, customer segments, and revenue streams.
Figure 6. SKIPPIT’s Business Model Canvas: Translating technology into market value.

Business Model Summary

SKIPPIT’s business model is built around technology licensing and co-development:

  • Academic Access: Free-to-use open-source tools (TADPOLE) to promote visibility and validation.
  • Commercial Access: Licensing of proprietary SCR libraries and the design engine for use in translational control applications.
  • Co-Development: Collaboration with biotech companies to integrate SKIPPIT modules into next-generation gene therapy pipelines.

This hybrid model ensures a sustainable balance between open innovation and IP-driven value creation.

Scalability & Growth Plan

Scalability

SKIPPIT scales from the bench to the market: its modular design ensures immediate adoption in academic and startup labs, while its customizable, patentable constructs open a clear path to biopharma integration.

This dual scalability (scientific and commercial) positions SKIPPIT as both a research enabler and a future therapeutic platform.

Diagram showing the dual scalability path of SKIPPIT from academic research to biopharma integration.
Figure 7. SKIPPIT's dual scalability path: immediate adoption in research labs and future integration into biopharma therapeutics.

Roadmap

The Roadmap details the strategic milestones and phases of the project, providing a high-level overview of the short-term and long-term goals for commercialization.

Roadmap visualizing SKIPPIT's strategic milestones from R&D to market entry.
Figure 8. Strategic Roadmap outlining the key stages for SKIPPIT’s commercial development.

Gantt Chart

The Gantt Chart provides a detailed timeline of task execution, crucial for resource allocation and management during the development process.

Gantt chart detailing the project timeline, tasks, and dependencies.
Figure 9. Detailed Gantt Chart showing the temporal planning and execution of project tasks.

Strategic Planning Analysis (2025-2030)

The detailed analysis of SKIPPIT's Gantt Chart reveals a phased plan that prioritizes legal protection and external validation before market expansion.

1. Short-Term Focus (2025-2026): Validation and Protection

This stage correctly prioritizes de-risking the technology and securing its value.

Validation & Outreach (2025-2026): Finalizing wet-lab data and presenting at conferences (iGEM & SynBio) in 2025 builds credibility and attracts attention. Seeking academic validation and partnership interest in 2026 is crucial before scaling.

IP Filing & Partnerships (2026-2027): Filing provisional patents in 2026 establishes the company's proprietary claims (over the Product, Method, and TADPOLE Platform). Initiating licensing discussions simultaneously shows a commercial intent early on.

2. Mid-Term Focus (2027-2028): Commercial Proof and Scaling

This phase moves from internal R&D to external, real-world application, which is necessary for scaling up.

IP Protection & Pilot Collaborations (2027): Securing IP protection is essential before implementing SKIPPIT modules in 2-3 biotech R&D pipelines. This serves as crucial pilot commercial validation.

Scaling (2028): Demonstrating scalability and reproducibility in 2028 is a necessary milestone to transition from pilot to broad commercial adoption.

Product Diversification (2028): The launch of the Aptamer-Controlled SCR (premium product line) in 2028 is a smart strategy to capture a high-value segment (inducible therapeutics) after the core product has been validated.

3. Long-Term Focus (2029-2030): Market Dominance

The final stage targets maximal market penetration and establishment as a sector leader.

Market Expansion (2029): Extending applications to gene therapy and synthetic cell design is the logical next step, as these are the high-value segments of the SAM (Serviceable Available Market).

Industry Standard (2030): Positioning SKIPPIT as an industry standard in 2030 represents the successful realization of the SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) and a strong competitive moat.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a strategic tool used to evaluate the internal and external environment of our project. It helps in identifying the key factors that can influence success.

Diagram of SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) for the SKIPPIT project.
Figure 10. Visual representation of SKIPPIT's SWOT Analysis.

From iGEM to Industry

SKIPPIT's goal is to transition from an iGEM Proof-of-Concept to a market-disrupting biotech enterprise by leveraging our core innovation: precise, differential translational control via Stop Codon Readthrough (SCR).

The Commercial Launchpad: The iGEM Foundation

The immediate strategy after the competition is focused on protecting the technology and seeking entrepreneurial support:

  • IP Protection: The plan is to immediately file a Provisional Patent covering two key commercial assets: the novel SCR sequences/constructs (the Product) and the Method for achieving precise differential expression. The value is centered on these proprietary outputs.
  • Startup Acceleration: We intend to apply to the iGEM Startups Program for tailored mentorship and access to investor networks.
  • Community Goodwill: The TADPOLE computational platform will be released under an open license (e.g., MIT) to empower future iGEM teams and the academic community, establishing SKIPPIT as a leader in open science.

Three Pillars of Commercialization (2025–2030)

Our commercial strategy is built on a diversified, phased revenue model that monetizes the results of our R&D, not the platform code:

Pillar Timeline Description
Pillar 1: SCR Kit & Library Licensing 2025-2027 Monetize our foundational IP by selling validated SCR sequences and modular constructs as research kits and non-exclusive licenses.
Pillar 2: TADPOLE Platform Licensing 2026+ License our proprietary computational engine to large biotech and pharma partners for internal use.
Pillar 3: Premium Inducible Systems 2027+ Launch a high-value product line of Aptamer-Controlled SCRs, adding ligand-dependent, time-sensitive control to our precision ratio technology.
Table 2. The three strategic pillars of SKIPPIT's phased revenue model for 2025–2030.

Long-Term Vision: The Future of Precision Control

Our long-term vision is to establish our SCR-based technology as one of the industry standards for precise translational control, integral to the design of future gene therapies, engineered cell lines, and sophisticated synthetic biological systems. We are not just selling a tool; we are foundational to the next wave of synthetic biology.

References

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University Lab Partners. (2020). How to create a business plan. https://www.universitylabpartners.org/blog/how-to-create-a-business-plan

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