Beckman Coulter Life Sciences - in a new partnership with Rarity Bioscience AB - offers a new approach to oncology research by extending the capabilities of flow cytometry to clinical molecular research.
Under a co-exclusive distribution agreement between the two companies, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences will market and distribute the Rarity Bioscience AB superRCA technology assays. This expands the global reach of this pioneering new solution which accelerates the detection of mutations by using flow cytometry with logarithmically higher sensitivity compared to current gold standard digital PCR (dPCR) method.
While traditional flow cytometry research analyses phenotypes, this platform combines a molecular assay based on rolling circle amplification and padlock probes with a flow cytometry readout for unprecedented sensitivity and specific multiplex detection of sequence variants, including single point DNA mutations.
The assay offers high throughput resulting in faster turnaround without the need for additional hardware, significantly lowering the barriers to molecular research assays.
“This milestone reinforces our relentless commitment to providing cutting edge and innovative technologies to laboratories while delivering cost and time savings,” said Pietro Lopriore, Vice President and General Manager of the Flow Cytometry Business Unit. “This brings a revolutionary new advancement to the field of molecular MRD (Measurable Residual Disease) research. These assays complement our innovative flow cytometry products, such as DURAClone RE MRD panels, to empower laboratories with a richer variety of technologies to expand and expedite their research possibilities to advance human health.”
“It is with great excitement we are entering into this partnership,” said Linus Bosaeus, CEO of Rarity Bioscience AB. “Our strategic decision to develop superRCA technology for use with widely adopted flow cytometry platforms was driven by the goal of enabling rapid scalability and providing laboratories and researchers with immediate access to high-precision molecular testing. Partnering with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, a global leader in flow cytometry, further reinforces this strategy and allows us to focus on expanding our platform’s capabilities within MRD assays and beyond.”