Sphere Fluidics Files IPO Prospectus: Cambridge-Originated Droplet Microfluidics Platform Revolutionizing Single-Cell Biomanufacturing

As a representative of new quality productive forces, synthetic biology is a “golden track” brimming with infinite possibilities, yet building an efficient synthetic biology system often requires extensive screening efforts.

In the development and manufacturing of biologics, the efficient screening of high-yielding, specific single-cell clones has long been a focal point. With existing technologies, detection and screening of secreted products can only be performed at the population level after single cells have formed monoclonal colonies. This process not only consumes substantial amounts of reagents and consumables but also incurs significant time costs in the fast-paced drug development landscape.

Against this backdrop, microfluidics technology has garnered increasing attention due to its advantages in single-cell analysis and manipulation. Numerous enterprises and research institutions, both domestically and internationally, have begun exploring the application of microfluidics in biomanufacturing processes to enhance production efficiency and reduce costs. Sphere Fluidics is one such company. Leveraging its proprietary microfluidic technology, the company has developed an automated platform that integrates single-cell screening, sorting, dispensing, imaging, and clone verification. This platform streamlines workflows, increases screening throughput, and provides confirmation of monoclonal origin.

Sphere Fluidics is a company specializing in single-cell analysis and isolation platforms. Its core product leverages microdroplet technology (picoliter-sized compartments called picodroplets) to encapsulate individual cells for large-scale single-cell experiments. This technology can be applied to the discovery and development of biotherapeutic drugs, such as monoclonal antibody screening, as well as single-cell therapeutic engineering for personalized medicine, and even the diagnosis of disease biomarkers at the single-cell level.

Sphere Fluidics traces its origins to the University of Cambridge, stemming from research achievements in microfluidics and single-cell analysis by a scientific team led by Professors Chris Abell and Wilhelm Huck. In 2010, with support from the University of Cambridge, Sphere Fluidics was spun out as an independent company. Its mission is to commercialize academic research findings by developing technological platforms capable of high-throughput analysis and isolation at the single-cell level.

For this reason, the company’s core team possesses extensive experience in the fields of life sciences and microfluidics. One of the company’s co-founders, Dr. Alex Dickinson, formerly served as Senior Vice President at Illumina, where he led the development of BaseSpace, Illumina’s cloud-based bioinformatics platform. Dr. Dickinson’s wealth of experience and profound understanding of life sciences have laid a solid foundation for the company’s strategic direction.

CEO Dale Levitzke has over 25 years of experience in the life sciences tools, biopharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries. Additionally, the company boasts an interdisciplinary team comprising mechanical engineers, biologists, software engineers, and other professionals who play a pivotal role in addressing customer challenges and driving technology development.

The company supports single-cell processing by providing biochips, specialty chemicals, and other consumables. Meanwhile, it has secured investment through collaborative R&D projects with international clients and established a new laboratory in Cambridge, UK, a renowned science hub.

Furthermore, the company successfully completed a $40 million financing round. The funds will be used to expand its international sales activities in key markets, improve customer support, and broaden its product research and development initiatives.

Sphere Fluidics’ flagship product is the Cyto-Mine® platform, an integrated system for single-cell processing, detection, sorting, and dispensing, enabling the discovery and development of biotherapeutic drugs.

The platform’s core is based on droplet microfluidics technology, which utilizes microscopic droplets to encapsulate individual cells for large-scale single-cell experiments. These droplets can form single emulsions in an oil-based carrier fluid or double emulsions in an aqueous carrier fluid. This technology ensures the long-term stability and biocompatibility of the droplets, enabling high-precision single-cell analysis.

The Cyto-Mine platform innovatively isolates and encapsulates individual cells within droplets, enabling precise detection—including specific analysis of cellular exoproducts and expression yield assessment—within these microscale systems, followed by the selection of corresponding droplets. According to the company, Cyto-Mine can screen up to 40 million cells within hours, significantly enhancing experimental throughput and efficiency. This approach compresses cell screening processes that traditionally required substantial time into a single day, greatly simplifying the workflow and accelerating drug development timelines.

More notably, the Cyto-Mine platform delivers not only compressed timelines and increased screening throughput, but also provides confirmation of monoclonal origin—that is, proof that each clone derives from a single cell. Establishing monoclonality is critically important in the development of biologics. After droplet sorting by the Cyto-Mine system, and prior to the sequential dispensing of cells into well plates, images of the droplets within the microfluidic channels are captured. This imaging-based approach verifies the uniqueness of the cell contained within each droplet.

Based on the aforementioned features, the Cyto-Mine platform offers multiple advantages. The first is high throughput and high precision. The platform’s high-throughput screening capability enables it to process large volumes of cells in a short period, achieving a throughput thousands of times greater than that of traditional methods. For instance, in the field of antibody discovery, Cyto-Mine can screen millions of cells within a single day, whereas conventional methods may require weeks or even months. Furthermore, the platform’s high-precision detection capabilities allow for accurate identification of cellular secretory products, such as antibody specificity and yield, thereby enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of the screening process.

Next is its multifunctionality and flexibility. The Cyto-Mine platform is not only suitable for antibody discovery and cell line development but also applicable to various fields such as synthetic biology, cell therapy, and gene editing. For instance, in the field of cell therapy, the platform can be used to screen and isolate cells with specific functions, thereby supporting personalized treatment. Furthermore, the platform’s flexibility enables customized assays and analyses tailored to diverse experimental requirements.

Finally, regarding automation and compliance, the automated operations of the Cyto-Mine platform reduce manual intervention, thereby enhancing experimental reproducibility and reliability. Furthermore, the platform is designed in accordance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards, ensuring the accuracy and regulatory compliance of experimental data. This is critical for the research, development, and manufacturing of biologics, enabling adherence to stringent regulatory requirements.

Leveraging these advantages, Sphere Fluidics has established collaborations with multiple companies to provide a range of services, including antibody discovery, engineering, and production. Currently, the Cyto-Mine platform has been widely adopted by pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, CDMOs, and leading research institutions worldwide, earning strong market recognition for its high throughput, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness.

In October 2023, Sphere Fluidics announced that its Cyto-Mine platform had been selected by FairJourney Biologics to expand its cell line development capabilities. As a world-leading end-to-end antibody partner, FairJourney Biologics provides comprehensive services spanning antibody discovery, engineering, and production. Through this collaboration, FairJourney Biologics will leverage the Cyto-Mine platform to streamline and accelerate customer workflows, while benefiting from the platform’s high-throughput screening, monoclonality confirmation, flexible assay design, and support for FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance.

In the same year, Sphere Fluidics also participated in the EU-funded 3DSecret project, which aims to develop cutting-edge technologies to study the mechanisms of cancer metastasis at the single-cell level.

In China, Sphere Fluidics entered the Chinese market in 2019 through a partnership with Gene Co., Ltd. As its distributor in the China region, Gene Co., Ltd. is responsible for sales, installation training, technical support, and after-sales maintenance in mainland China, including the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.

In an era of rapid advancement in biomanufacturing and synthetic biology, Sphere Fluidics is redefining the boundaries of single-cell analysis by leveraging its Cambridge University-derived technology and the powerful capabilities of its Cyto-Mine platform. With advantages in high throughput, high precision, multifunctionality, and regulatory compliance, Sphere Fluidics not only provides robust support for the discovery and development of biotherapeutic drugs but also brings new hope and opportunities to the global biopharmaceutical and synthetic biology sectors.

As Sphere Fluidics deepens its collaborations worldwide and expands the application of its technologies into more fields, it is poised to play a pivotal role in the future biotechnology revolution.