Great Basin

About Great Basin

Great Basin Scientific, Inc. was a molecular diagnostics company founded in 2005 by Bill Wiesler and Ryan Ashton, who also served as CEO. The company focused on developing and commercializing chip-based technologies for the diagnosis of infectious diseases, aiming to provide simple and cost-effective sample-to-result products. Its business model involved providing its analyzer instrument to customers, such as hospitals and clinics, at no charge and generating revenue from the sale of single-use diagnostic cartridges.

The company's product line included FDA-cleared tests for various infectious agents, including Group B Streptococcus, Stool Bacterial Pathogens, Clostridium difficile (C. diff), and Staph ID/R Blood Culture. These cartridge-based assays ran on the company's proprietary analyzer platform, such as the PA500 Portrait Analyzer and the later GB550 model, which were designed for ease of use and to provide rapid, multiple-pathogen diagnoses. The technology aimed to reduce the time for diagnostic results from days to hours, enabling faster, more accurate treatment decisions.

Great Basin Scientific went public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in October 2014, listing on the NASDAQ under the symbol GBSN. Over its history, the company raised significant funding, including a $12.1 million Series A round in 2010 and a total of $51.4M. However, the company faced significant financial challenges. In September 2016, it received a delisting warning from Nasdaq for failing to maintain the minimum $1 bid price. Subsequently, its shares were delisted from Nasdaq in October 2016 and began trading on the Over-the-Counter Market. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 5, 2018. Following the bankruptcy, the assets of Great Basin Scientific, including its six FDA-approved products and its Salt Lake City manufacturing and R&D site, were acquired by Vela Diagnostics in June 2018.