Head-hunter Katie Davis is consistently keeping up to date with the latest news within the biotech industry, whether that be funding news, acquisitions, spin outs and expansions, legal updates, layoffs and restructuring, collaborations or general product updates. In this blog, we explore the latest updates throughout the month of January. You can subscribe to Katies biotech funding updates over on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the ever-growing biotech market.
Acquisitions, spin outs and expansions
MaxCyte, Inc. acquires SeQure Dx to broaden cell engineering offerings with on-target and off-target editing assessments
Maravai LifeSciences acquires IP, assets from Molecular Assemblies, Inc. The acquisition will expand Maravai and TriLink BioTechnologies’ ability to enable customers to develop next-generation mRNA and CRISPR nucleic acid-based therapies.
Quest Diagnostics has completed its acquisition of select assets of University Hospitals, one of the nation’s leading non-profit health systems and academic medical centers.
Takara Bio USA, Inc. acquires Curio Bioscience. This strategic acquisition combines two innovative spatial biology platforms with Takara Bio’s portfolio of single-cell genomics tools.
Quanterix to acquire Akoya Biosciences, Inc., creating the first integrated solution for ultra-sensitive detection of blood- and tissue-based protein biomarkers.
Danish multiomics firm cmbio acquires Eagle Genomics software assets.
Solvias, a global provider of CMC analytics announced the opening of its cutting-edge Center of Excellence for Biologics and Cell and Gene Therapy in the heart of RTP in North Carolina.
Leading UK CDMO Upperton Pharma Solutions has completed the build of its new sterile manufacturing facility in Nottingham, UK.
Novocure officially opened it’s new global headquarters in Canton of Zug, Switzerland
Kenai Therapeutics establishes research facility at Lilly Gateway Labs in San Diego
Legal updates
Point-of-care testing firm NOWDiagnostics | NOWDx filed a countersuit in its ongoing legal battle with competitor OraSure Technologies alleging breach of contract, theft of a nonpublic device, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and other violations of state and federal law.
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on released an interim final rule implementing targeted export controls on LC-MS instruments “specially designed for top-down proteomic analysis,” to China and several other countries.
Collaborations and partnerships
TetraScience collaborates with Microsoft to advance scientific AI at scale
Akoya Biosciences, Inc. selects Argonaut Manufacturing Services Inc. as IVD manufacturing partner
BD & Biosero collaborate to enable robotic integration with flow cytometers used in drug discovery and development
Rancho BioSciences & ONTOFORCE collaborate to leverage high quality data for target identification
Biofidelity & CellCarta partner to deploy Aspyre® Lung in global clinical trials
QIAGEN has partnered with Genomics England to support the delivery of the Generation Study. This first-of-its-kind initiative aims to sequence the genomes of 100,000 newborns in England to screen for over 200 selected conditions, enabling earlier diagnosis and treatment of rare conditions.
Leica Biosystems & Indica Labs announce significant strategic investment and creation of digital pathology platform
PhenoVista partners with NETRI to expand Organ-on-Chip service offerings for drug development
Illumina launched a pilot proteomics program to analyze 50,000 UK Biobank samples in collaboration with DeCode Genetics, Standard BioTools, Tecan, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis. They also announced a collaboration with Nvidia to advance multiomics data analysis and interpretation capabilities for clinical research, genomics AI development, and drug discovery.
Sapio Sciences announced that Schrödinger has adopted the Sapio Platform to improve data management, enhance lab efficiency, and accelerate the discovery of novel molecules.
Olink Proteomics (a Thermo company) announced its Explore HT platform was Selected by the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project (UKB-PPP).
Tempus AI announces a collaboration with Genialis to develop RNA-based biomarker algorithms
Ultima Genomics announced that its UG 100™ was selected as the sequencing platform to enable UK Biobank ’s unprecedented protein study.
PathAI Diagnostics signed an agreement to help Discovery Life Sciences develop an AI-based tissue analysis panel for use in translational research and biomarker discovery.
Quantum-Si is partnered with IDEX Health & Science, LLC on developing and manufacturing the optics module for its Proteus proteomics platform.
Revvity & Element Biosciences are collaborating on the development and commercialization of an in vitro diagnostic workflow for newborn sequencing.
Sapient has partnered with Alamar Biosciences, Inc. to provide proteomics services using Alamar’s NULISA multiplexed immunoassay platform.
MyOme & NOVI Health partner to Bring Whole-Genome Testing to Workplace Health Programs
Diatech Pharmacogenetics has expanded a collaboration with Merck Group affiliate Merck Serono Middle East to improve patient access to RAS biomarker testing in the MEA regions.
Genialis extended it’s collaboration with Debiopharm to develop a predictive biomarker for a WEE1-targeted therapy.
Basepair Inc signed a distribution agreement with Sciencewerke Pte Ltd for it’s bioinformatics platform across key markets in Southeast Asia
Lifebit partnered with the Psifas Initiative for Precision Medicine to provide a secure and unified platform for clinico-genomic research in Israel.
PacBio announced the Global Institute for Food Security as the first Revio PacBio Certified Service Provider in Canada.
MilliporeSigma partnered with Opentrons Labworks Inc. to automate the company’s biology assays using the latter’s custom robotic workstation.
Caris Life Sciences and Ontada entered a partnership focused on advancing precision oncology by combining their respective genomic and clinical data resources.
Leica Biosystems partners with Molecular Instruments on tissue research products aimed at the detection of RNA and protein targets on the same tissue sample, enabling spatial insights in cancer research.
cmbio inked a partnership with Nimble Science to advance GI microbiome research.
Genome Medical partnered with Nest Genomics (YC W22) to expand access to genetic services for patients and providers.
Guardant Health & ConcertAI partner on combined Clinicogenomic Data-as-a-Service offering
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. & NeoGenomics Laboratories have agreed to a multiyear, exclusive commercial partnership to promote genomic testing for MRD monitoring and personalize treatment in patients with select blood cancers.
Scipher Medicine formed a strategic partnership with Roivant to advance rheumatology drug discovery and development
Helix has partnered with Komodo Health to add medical, pharmacy, and mortality data from Komodo’s Healthcare Map to Helix’s clinico-genomic datasets within the Helix Research Network study
Human Longevity, Inc. partnered with SleepScore Labs to improve sleep health through the integration of WGS data with sleep data.
PentaBase struck a nonexclusive license agreement with Asuragen, a Bio-Techne brand for its proprietary oligonucleotide technology.
OMNY Health & Scipher Medicine entered a partnership aimed at advancing precision medicine efforts for immunology.
Platomics has launched a pilot program with Agilent Technologies to offer customers laboratory documentation capabilities for NGS tests developed under the EU’s IVDR.
Myriad Genetics & MD Anderson Cancer Center announced a five-year strategic alliance to further develop and to evaluate the clinical utility of Myriad’s Precise MRD assay for measuring minimal residual disease.
Product updates
CellsBin™ Inc. emerged from stealth and introduced the CB-Scout™ NK, a breakthrough solution for monitoring the persistence and efficacy of NK therapy cells with 1 in 10,000,000 sensitivity.
Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced Olink® Reveal, which can measure ~1,000 carefully selected human proteins to broadly screen the proteome while also enabling deep characterization of critical inflammation processes.
BioBam Bioinformatics launched iOmicsBox Version 3.4. this latest release introduces a range of enhancements designed to address the evolving needs of modern genomics and transcriptomics research.
Alamar Biosciences, Inc. launched the NULISAseq™ Inflammation Panel AQ, setting a new standard in profiling the immune response in clinical or longitudinal studies.
Ovation launches comprehensive research data set of Whole Genome Sequences and longitudinal clinical records for patients treated with GLP-1 agonists
ONI launched the Aplo Scope, a single molecule super-resolution microscope that enables scientists to observe and measure molecular interactions within cells and tissues with unparalleled precision.
Bruker launched the LUMOS™ II ILIM, a quantum cascade laser (QCL) based infrared imaging microscope. The new platform enabling pharma & life science researchers to capture ultrafast IR images of expansive areas with enhanced spatial resolution.
Opentrons Labworks Inc. launched the Opentrons Flex High-Throughput NGS Workstation, a high-throughput benchtop instrument for automated next-generation sequencing library prep.
EditCo Bio launched XDel Knockout Cells for CRISPR gene editing research.
Bio-Rad Laboratories launched its Trailblazer Tag & TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label Kits, which can be used to label any antibody with StarBright Dyes for use in flow cytometry or fluorescent western blot experiments.
Molecular Instruments launched the HCR Gold & HCR Pro product lines. The new product lines support both manual and automated workflows for imaging RNA and proteins
LGC Clinical Diagnostics launched the Seraseq Inherited Cancer DNA Mix v2, a comprehensive reference material designed to support the validation and daily quality control of cancer predisposition assays.
Datar Cancer Genetics Limited launched Target-MRD, an advanced MRD monitoring blood test for solid organ cancers.
OGT launched its new next-generation sequencing-based SureSeq Myeloid MRD panel in North America.
OnsiteGene has launched XDive, a real-time PCR instrument that completes 40 thermal cycles and real-time fluorescent imaging in five minutes.
The Health Alliance launched its Bird Flu (Avian Influenza) Assay for the detection of infections in humans with H5N1 avian influenza virus.
Eurofins Viracor launched a qPCR assay for Trypanosoma cruzi, the pathogen that causes Chagas disease.
Almaden Genomics launched G.nome 2.0, an upgrade to its data analysis platform G.nome
Enhanced Genomics launched a suite of multiomics tools for drug discovery (all powered by GenLinkHub software)
GenLinkConnect: Links GWAS SNPs to genes via long-range regulatory interactions.
GenLinkResponse: Maps regulatory networks to reveal epigenetic treatment responses.
GenLinkProfile: Integrates 3D genomics with multiomics assays for high-resolution SNP-gene analyses.
Tempus AI AI launched the NGS-based FDA approved xT CDx test. It comprises 648 genes & is used to provide solid tumor profiling in cancer patients with solid malignant neoplasms.
NashBio launched two products that provide de-identified electronic health record and genomic data, enabling precision medicine research for life science researchers, pharma companies, and biotech innovators.
ELEGEN launched Enfinia Plasmid DNA for clonal synthesis of high-complexity clonal genes up to 15 kb, verified by next-generation sequencing.
New England Biolabs launched EM-seq v2, an updated enzymatic methylation profiling assay kit.
23andMe launched the Discover23 platform.
Parse Biosciences expanded its Evercode WT Mega single-cell sequencing kit. Researchers can now analyze up to 1 million cells across 384 samples in a single run, up from 96 samples.
ARUP Laboratories launched the laboratory-developed qualitative nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for the detection and subtyping of influenza A (H5) virus
BioSkryb Genomics launched ResolveSeq MRD, a service for classification and characterization of the MRD cells in hematologic malignancies
MRC Holland received certification under Europe’s IVDR for its phenylketonuria detection test and they received CE marking for a molecular test that is used to screen newborns for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
Roche received 510(k) clearance from the US FDA for its Tina-quant Lipoprotein (a) Gen.2 Molarity assay. They also obtained 510(k) clearance and CLIA waiver for a point-of-care assay to detect and differentiate chlamydia, gonorrhea, and mycoplasma infections.
QIAGEN’s targeted syndromic multiplex qPCR panel to detect bacterial and viral gastrointestinal infections is granted FDA clearance.
Foundation Medicine’s FoundationOne CDx test received approval from the US FDA for use as a companion diagnostic with Day One Biopharmaceuticals’ Ojemda (tovorafenib) in pediatric patients.
Bosch Healthcare Solutions GmbH obtained CE-IVDR marking for its Vivalytic Bacterial Meningitis PCR test running on the company’s fully automated Vivalytic analysis platform.
Nuclein has obtained 510(k) clearance and CLIA waiver from the US FDA for its test system and an assay to detect COVID-19 and influenza.
Paige, received FDA 510(k) clearance for its FullFocus™ digital pathology image viewer for use with the Leica Aperio GT 450 DX scannerand the Hamamatsu NanoZoomer S360MD Slide scanner system.
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