[9] CombiMatrix is dedicated to providing high-level clinical support for healthcare professionals in order to help them incorporate the results of complex genetic testing into patient-centered medical decision making.

[10][11] In the mid-1990s, a PhD from Caltech invented a method of analyzing and immobilizing genetic material on the surface of a modified semiconductor wafer.

Located in Mukilteo, Washington, the company received several rounds of private financings and filed to go public in November 2000.

Unfortunately, CombiMatrix missed its "IPO window" by a few months due to the turmoil that was happening in the financial markets in late 2000 and early 2001, and then the events of Sept. 11 2001 put the final "nail in the coffin" to the company's fundraising plans at the time.

So, CombiMatrix shifted gears and began pursuing several funded R&D projects to further develop its proprietary microarray technology with outside entities such as Roche Applied Sciences in Europe, biotech researchers in Japan as well as the U.S. Department of Defense.

In late 2002, CombiMatrix merged with and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Acacia Research Corporation of Newport Beach, California.

[12] From 2002 to 2007, CombiMatrix continued its commercial development of "CustomArray" as it was called and began selling its DNA synthesis instruments and arrays to various R&D facilities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.