General Life Science Consumables

Company Announcements

In January, JSR Life Sciences appointed Dr. Nalini Murdter as president and CEO of MBL. She previously served as vice president of Commercial Operations and Business Development.

Gene-based Consumables

Company Announcements

Bio-Rad Laboratories launched in December 2017 the QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit, calling it the first CE-IVD digital PCR test that can monitor the molecular response of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia to therapy. The kit is available for diagnostic use in Europe, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Canopy Biosciences, a provider of gene editing and gene expression research tools, raised $2.1 million as part of a $3.4 million offering, according to a January SEC filing.

In January, the US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity awarded Battelle a contract to develop threat assessment software to help prevent the creation of dangerous organisms using synthetic biology and genetic engineering. Battelle is working with Ginkgo Bioworks, One Code and Twist Bioscience. The technology could eventually be applied to other markets, including predictive health.

ThermaGenix, which develops PCR reagents and assays, entered into a distribution agreement in January with MilliporeSigma.

In January, the Netherlands Cancer Institute granted an exclusive license to Desktop Genetics (DTG) for TIDE (Tracking of Indels of DEcomposition). TIDE enables investigators to quantitatively assess genome editing on the DESKGEN Cloud, DTG’s free CRISPR design software. According to DTG, the tool is the first of its kind for detecting genome editing–mediated indels.

New England Biolabs became in January a primary sponsor of the LabCentral Learning Lab, a coworking lab and launchpad for life science start-ups.

In January, DNA Script exclusively licensed Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry’s technology for enzyme-based synthesis of high-purity synthetic DNA and other nucleic acids.

Gene synthesis technology firm Evonetix completed a $12.3 million financing in January. The company’s technology enables the parallel synthesis of DNA on silicon arrays.

In January, BioGX, which manufactures PCR reagents, entered into a multi-year strategic partnership with AxonLab for distribution in the majority of Central Europe.

In February, Horizon Discovery licensed to a US immuno-oncology company its cell line and Helitron transposon gene editing technologies.

Shoreline Biome announced in February that it has secured $1.1 million in equity funding. Shoreline Biome designs tools, such as PCR targets, to understand human microbiome functions.

Merck KGaA announced in February that its CRISPR technology patents for integration of an external DNA sequence into the chromosome of eukaryotic cells were accepted in South Korea and Israel.

ATUM licensed its Leap-In cell line development tools to Just Biotherapeutics for producing stable, high producing cell lines.

Product Introductions

Thermo Fisher Scientific released in December 2017 the Thermo Scientific RapidFinder Salmonella Multiplex PCR System, calling it the first validated multiplex PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Salmonella species, Typhimurium and Enteritidis in one test. It is designed for use by poultry and pork producers. Three targets can be detected in as little as 16 hours.

In February, Thermo Fisher Scientific launched the Applied Biosystems Axiom Microbiome Array, developed in collaboration with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for the simultaneous detection of archaea, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses in human and non-human samples. The array incorporates over 12,595 species.

Synthego introduced in January the free and open-source ICE (Inference of CRISPR Edits) software for the rapid analysis of Sanger data, including batch processing.

Cell-based Consumables

Company Announcements

In January, Ultivue closed a $20 million Series B funding round. The company supplies the InSituPlex technology for biomarker analysis in tissue at a high level of multiplex with high spatial resolution.

GenExosome Technologies, a subsidiary of Avalon GloboCare, launched US operations in February, which will distribute the business’ Exosome Isolation Systems.

Product Introductions

As a result of a marketing and distribution agreement with Kirkstall, Lonza introduced in February the Quasi Vivo System, which consists of an interconnected fluidics system to create more physiologically relevant cell culture conditions. The system is available in three different culture chambers (QV500, QV600 and QV900) to support a wide range of applications, including submerged cell culture, co-culture and modeling of air-liquid and liquid-liquid interfaces.

Protein-based Consumables

Company Announcements

SomaLogic announced in January the closing of a $200 million funding round. SomaLogic’s technology measures five thousand proteins in a single sample.

CEDARVILLE Engineering and Rockland Immunochemicals announced in January a research collaboration to explore the development of applications in 3D bioprinting.

Bio-Techne announced in January that in October 2017 it began distributing Vector Laboratories (Vector) reagents and kits in the US. The combination of Bio-Techne’s Novus Biologicals primary antibodies and Vector’s secondary detection reagents provides tools for immunostaining.

In January, SYGNIS extended the manufacturing capability for its Innova Biosciences Lightning-Link technology to support scalability and bulk production of antibodies.

Product Introductions

In February, InDev released the VaxArray Influenza Pandemic Hemagglutinin potency test kit for flu vaccines containing H5, H7 and H9 flu subtypes, which includes new H7 vaccines against the avian H7N9 virus. The panel of monoclonal antibodies that provide the test with virus subtype specificity was developed by the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.