Harbor BioMed Integrates Berkeley Lights’ Beacon® Single-Cell Optofluidic Platform to Accelerate Antibody Drug Discovery

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Berkeley Lights (hereinafter referred to as “BLI”), a leader in digital cell biology, recently announced a collaboration with Harbor BioMed, a global biopharmaceutical company, to integrate the Beacon platform. This partnership aims to facilitate antibody drug development, tumor immunology, and other research areas in cell biology through analysis and screening at the single-cell level.

Harbour BioMed is a global biotechnology company founded in 2016, dedicated to developing innovative drugs and novel therapies in the field of tumor immunology. The company’s portfolio centers on its proprietary fully human antibody transgenic mouse platform. Harbour BioMed builds its internal R&D pipeline by acquiring high-quality preclinical and clinical-stage assets and co-developing them with partners.

In addition, Harbour BioMed also licenses its proprietary technology platforms through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Harbour Antibodies, to global biopharmaceutical companies and academic institutions for the development of various novel antibody-based therapeutics.

Harbour BioMed boasts a seasoned management team with extensive experience in drug research and development. The company has established its operational and R&D base in Shanghai, China; set up a commercial operations and innovation center (including laboratories and an R&D team) in Boston, United States; and founded an antibody R&D platform innovation center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Berkeley Lights, a leader in the field of digital cell biology, was founded in 2011 and launched its first commercial platform, the Beacon OptoFluidic System for single cells, in December 2016. The Beacon OptoFluidic System can effectively isolate, detect, and analyze nearly all cell types. In antibody discovery research, the Beacon platform can isolate and identify primary B cells producing antibodies in less than a day, thereby accelerating the R&D process. The Beacon OptoFluidic System enables efficient, rapid, and precise immunological studies at the single-cell level and other cell biology research, such as single B-cell antibody development, antibody engineering, and tumor immunotherapy.

It is understood that Harbour BioMed is currently the first company in the Greater China region to be equipped with and utilize this advanced technology. Meanwhile, this also facilitates Berkeley Lights’ further expansion into the Asian market.

Dr. Wang Jinsong, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed, stated, “The integration of the Beacon single-cell optofluidic platform has given us a first-mover advantage, which is highly significant for Harbour BioMed. It will further enhance our overall capabilities in antibody drug discovery, enabling us to better meet the medical needs of patients worldwide.”

“The Berkeley Lights Digital Cell Biology Platform offers advantages such as diversity, applicability, and flexibility, meeting the diverse needs of the modern antibody discovery field,” said Andy Last, Chief Business Officer at Berkeley Lights. “Our collaboration with Harbour BioMed represents a significant step in our strategic development. This partnership will help us accelerate innovation and better address the drug discovery demands of the rapidly growing antibody therapeutics market.”