Beckman Coulter buys Cytobank to add data analysis software

Dive Brief:

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences has bought Santa Clara, California-based Cytobank for its single cell data analysis software.
Cytobank developed the software to support the analysis, visualization sharing and archiving of multiple single-cell data sets, thereby equipping teams to discover biomarkers, view dose response results and otherwise interrogate the output of flow cytometers.
The Danaher-owned company said the Cytobank software will complement its CytoFLEX LX 21-color flow cytometer and help customers manage more complex workflows and analyses.

Dive Insight:

Advances in flow cytometry have enabled researchers to probe more cellular parameters. CytoFLEX LX, for example, supports 23 parameters of cellular analytical measurements. Cytometers from BD and Fluidigm can handle even more parameters.

The increase in parameters has created data analysis challenges. Beckman Coulter sought to mitigate some of these challenges by introducing a new version of its CytExpert data collection and analysis software when it unveiled CytoFLEX LX in 2017.

Now, Beckman Coulter has moved deeper into the software side of flow cytometry by striking a deal to buy Cytobank. For an undisclosed sum, Beckman Coulter has taken control of the provider of cloud-based software for single-cell data analysis.

Cytobank, which has worked closely with BD on multiple projects, enables users to process raw data and turn it into a range of visualizations for analysis. In doing so, researchers can subset single cell data to identify predictive biomarkers, visualize how samples are behaving under different conditions, compare differences between patients and track changes over time.

“We can now provide more standardized, yet flexible high-end data analytics solutions to pharma/biopharma and leading academic clinical research customers,” Mario Koksch, flow cytometry business unit vice president at Beckman Coulter, said in a statement.

The acquisition follows a sustained period of growth at Beckman Coulter’s flow cytometry business. Danaher, the parent company of Beckman Coulter, has reported growth in flow cytometry sales since 2013, due to the introduction of new products such as CytoFLEX LX in recent years.