Broad-based Companies

Company Announcements

SYGNIS announced that effective March 1, it had fully integrated its Innova Biosciences, Expedeon and B.S. Scientific’s products and services under the Expedeon brand name. Expedeon serves the genomic, proteomic and immunology research markets.

Meridian Bioscience announced in March a realignment of its organizational structure. Operations are now conducted through two Business Units, Diagnostics and Life Science, both of which are supported by a global corporate team. Each of the two business units now has a consolidated sales and marketing team supporting the entire product portfolio. For the time being, CEO Jack Kenny will act as executive vice president of the Diagnostics Business Unit, in addition to his role as CEO. Lourdes G. Weltzien, PhD, has been promoted to executive vice president, Life Science, and will lead the Life Science Business Unit.

In March, Streck signed a three-year distribution agreement with Van Xuan Medical Technology for Vietnam.

Gene-based Consumables

Company Announcements

In February, synthetic DNA firm Twist Bioscience expanded its North American operations with a new office in the San Diego, California, area. Twist Bioscience is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with a second site in South San Francisco and an international office in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In April, Twist Bioscience completed a $50 million private placement, bringing the total raised to $250 million.

In March, Horizon Discovery announced that former CEO Darrin Disley (see IBO 2/28/18) is no longer on its Board.

Horizon Discovery partnered with Genewell Biotechnology to distribute diagnostic reference standards in China. Genewell will manufacture Horizon reference standards within China and distribute them as RUO products to Chinese diagnostic companies for use in their assay development program. Genewell will simultaneously pursue approval for the use of Horizon’s reference standards with the Chinese Food and Drug Administration.

Horizon Discovery announced in March that its Glutamine Synthetase-Knockout CHO K1 cell line has been used as part of a successful Investigational New Drug filing with the US FDA.

In April, Horizon Discovery partnered with The Pirbright Institute to jointly work on a research program aimed at deploying cell engineering to increase the yields of livestock vaccines.

Gene editing company Inscripta closed a $55.5 million Series C funding round in February. The round was led by Mérieux Développement and Paladin Capital.

DNA Script, a manufacturer of de novo synthetic nucleic acids, announced in April it will receive $5.5 million in grants from the European Comission’s Horizon 2020 European Innovation Council and Bpifrance. The financing will be received as subsidies and refundable advances. To date, DNA Script has raised $24 million.

GSL Biotech and VectorBuilder partnered in April to make VectorBuilder’s custom plasmids available through GSL Biotech’s “Snap Gene” software.

In April, Oxford Gene Technology, a Sysmex company, promoted Dr. John Anson, executive vice president of R&D, to CEO. Former CEO Dr. Mike Evans was named a non-executive director. The company also named Paul Kenny to the new position of executive vice president of Regulatory and Medical Affairs. Previously, he served as head of Regulatory Affairs for immunodiagnostic company The Binding Site.

Product Introductions

In March, Horizon Discovery released the Edit-RTM CRISPRa arrayed crRNA (CRISPR RNA) libraries, the latest addition to its CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) reagent platform. Available as small gene families, bespoke collections, the druggable genome or human genome-wide collection, they enable native gene overexpression for high-throughput gain-of-function screening.

In April, Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced the Applied Biosystems MycoSEQ Mycoplasma Detection Kit, a fully integrated solution for real-time PCR-based mycoplasma detection. The MycoSEQ assay and method can be used for lot release by manufacturers in different therapeutic modalities.

Cell-based Consumables

Company Announcements

In February, Emulate entered into a strategic partnership with Roche for use of its Human Emulation System, a lab-ready system comprised of Organ-Chips, instrumentation and software apps, for testing of efficacy and safety of new antibody therapeutics and combination therapies.

Minerva Biotechnologies named CellSystems as a European distributor of its AlphaSTEM Naïve Stem Cell Culture System.

In March, AMSBIO agreed to distribute Genea Biocells’ skeletal muscle differentiation product range to the academic community. Genea Biocells’ skeletal muscle differentiation kit provides researchers with a unique tool to rapidly differentiate stem cells into functional myotubes in a reproducible fashion.

Samsara, an Organovo subsidiary, announced in March a supplier agreement with Lonza Bioscience for its human cell products, including specialized human liver cells. The agreement is Samsara’s single largest contract to date.

In March, Elixirgen Scientific announced an agreement allowing it to produce and distribute cells differentiated from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s (CIRM) hPSC repository. When applied to CIRM’s hPSC bank, Elixirgen Scientific’s Quick-Tissue differentiation technology will be able to provide relevant tissues for any of the 1,600 cell lines.

In March, BioIVT, a provider of high-quality biological specimens and value-added services, acquired cell-based assay provider Ascendance Biotechnology. Ascendacne Biotechnology’s products include Hepregen HepatoPac, HepatoMune and HepatoStem liver cell and stem cell product lines.

Product Introductions

In March, in partnership with Multiclonal Therapeutics, Bio-Techne introduced the MimEX GI human tissue–model system for generating 3­D gastrointestinal tissue on a 2­D surface using adult ground­state stem cells. The launch includes a licensing program for its use in commercial applications.

Protein-based Consumables

For the six months ending December 31, 2017, Abcam revenues grew 9.8%, 11.2% in constant currency, to £112.5 million ($150.0 million) (see IBO 3/31/18). Catalogue revenues rose 11.5%, 10.0% in constant currency, to £105.2 million ($140.3 million). For Catalogue revenue, recombinant antibody sales rose 21.1%, 22.8% in constant currency, to £22.4 million ($29.9 million), and Immunoassay sales grew 20.7%, 23.4% in constant currency, to £7.0 million ($9.3 million). Customer Product & Licensing revenue rose 5.8%, 7.8% in constant currency, to £7.3 million ($9.7 million). Adjusted operating profit rose 9.8 % to £39.0 million ($52.0 million). The company raised its fiscal year guidance to 11% revenue growth, including the impact of the Spring Bioscience transaction (see IBO 1/31/18).

In March, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced an agreement with the Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University designed to accelerate the understanding of neurological disease by focusing on about 30 proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, hereditary spastic paraplegias, epileptic encephalopathies and ataxias. As part of the study, Thermo Fisher will generate rabbit recombinant antibodies using its ABfinity antibody technology for proteins that investigators at the Institute and other scientists have associated with particular neurological diseases. The research will result in a set of highly validated reagents that will be made available to the scientific community.

In April, Cell Signaling Technology (CST) opened an office in Shanghai, China, tripling office and warehouse space in the country. The new space includes CST’s Global Innovation and Funding Academy.

Enzyme product firm Genovis named Chayon Laboratories as a distributor for South Korea.

Product Introductions

In March, TGR BioSciences announced the global availability of Alpha Terbium SureFire Ultra assay kits. These new kits can be easily combined with existing AlphaLISA SureFire Ultra kits to provide high-throughput capability of multiplexed phosphoprotein detection in a homogeneous assay format. The kits combine PerkinElmer’s homogeneous Alpha (Amplified Luminescent Proximity Homogenous Assay) detection chemistry with TGR’s CaptSure Multiplex technology to allow the measurement of two phosphoprotein targets in each assay well in a mix‐ and‐read format. The portfolio is available exclusively through PerkinElmer.