Lunaphore Technologies, a Swiss life sciences company developing technology to enable spatial biology in every laboratory, has reached an agreement to be acquired by Bio-Techne Corporation, a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostics communities.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, Lunaphore is a leading developer of fully automated spatial biology solutions using precision microfluidic technology capable of revealing hyperplex proteomic and transcriptomic biomarkers in tumours and other tissues at single-cell and subcellular resolution. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2023.
Bio-Techne and Lunaphore recently announced a strategic partnership to develop the first fully automated spatial multiomic workflow. This fully automated multiomics solution will utilise Lunaphore’s COMET instrument and SPYRE antibody panels as well as Bio-Techne’s RNAscope HiPlex technology to enable simultaneous hyperplex detection of protein and RNA biomarkers on the same slide at single-cell resolution.
Lunaphore’s instrument portfolio includes COMET (pictured above), an end-to-end spatial biology platform, with staining, imaging, and image preprocessing steps integrated into a fully automated, high-throughput instrument, that delivers true walk-away automation with unmatched scalability, reproducibility, and tissue morphology. Eliminating the need to conjugate antibodies, researchers can leverage their existing antibody libraries and decades of know-how on Lunaphore’s platforms to scale assays into endless multiplexing possibilities.
“Lunaphore is very complementary to Bio-Techne’s leading spatial biology franchise, as COMET delivers an automation platform for our RNAscope assays, and we leverage our global commercial team to penetrate this rapidly growing market. We also see additional synergies with our leading portfolio of antibodies and other products,” said Chuck Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Techne. “Lunaphore is seeing strong initial traction with its COMET instrument, as this fully integrated, fully automated spatial biology system delivers the end-to-end automation that is in high demand from translational researchers. We anticipate COMET to play an important role as spatial biology gains traction in clinical applications. We are excited to welcome Lunaphore’s talented team, instrument portfolio, and technology to Bio-Techne.”