APTASTELES was envisioned as a project not just for a year or for a competition but a viable method to help people lead better lives, make it easier for them to navigate the new world and avail the best of the opportunities it offers. Hence our team looked into various areas to implement our project, and what necessary changes should be made to make it a viable solution.

OUR KIT'S JOURNEY

Figure 1.Timeline showing the proposed commercialization journey of the APTASTELES kit

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

To launch anything in the outside world, one should first assess who needs it and how it will affect them. Hence we qualitatively measured probable interactions of various groups of people with our kit and their relation with it. As one can see, environmental safety, sustainability and economic viability is to be addressed and assessed further.
The various values including user privacy, environmental safety, affordability and others that needed to be analysed while developing a kit that would be entering the market was analysed by the team.

The team charted a stakeholder value matrix that could aid the team in directionalising the team to modulate the kit and the designs accordingly.

Figure 2. Table qualitatively comparing different stakeholders and values to be addressed

SURVEY RESULT AND ANALYSIS

Our team conducted a few surveys with some of these stakeholders and here are some of the results.

Figure 3. Some of our survey results done by our team

SWOT ANALYSIS

We then assessed the entrepreneurial aspect of the idea; how feasible it is to launch it as a product in the next 20 years.

Figure 4. Table for SWOT analysis for propsed kit

LICENSING

After we validate our idea and preliminary product research and development would be done, what steps should we take to authenticate our product? Below we assessed the path for the same, to be followed in India to certify and launch the product.

Figure 5. Flowchart displaying licensing process to be followed for the proposed kit

SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY

The kit, despite being innovative, intends to take into consideration not only the viewpoint of the user but also methods of secure disposal and degradation as well. On our Safety page , you can find a more in-depth analysis of the same matter. During the development stage, another factor considered was the product's ability to be maintained over time. In order to guarantee that the product we produce will in no way be detrimental to the natural world, every raw material incorporated into the production process and the accompanying packaging will be subjected to a battery of analyses and examinations. During the process of actualization, there is also the potential for the implementation of a recycling plan for the kit that is based on a reward system for the user.

IMPROVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

For APTASTELES, participation in the iGEM competition will serve primarily as a stepping stone on the path to commercialization. After receiving insights and ideas from the competition, we intend to incorporate them and change our kit in a way that is not subject to the time constraint of a few months. Additional research could be conducted on the already chosen biomarkers and the aptamers that correspond to them. Another one of our top priorities would be to complete the SELEX cycle for any biomarkers that do not currently have an aptamer that has already been well-characterized. Additionally, the kit's efficacy may be improved by the introduction of novel potential biomarkers. Documentation and analysis of the workings of these aptamers by several reviewers are required in order to compile unambiguous data on their effectiveness. At this point, additional expert hands on the subject are required, which can be gained either from within our institute or from external organizations working on similar grounds. To know more about our plans to commercialize our kit, do look at the entrepreunership page for more information.