Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Canopy Biosciences to Acquire German Cytometry Startup

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Canopy Biosciences announced today that it has acquired German cytometry startup Zellkraftwerk as part of its plans to build a wider product and service offering.

According to Canopy, the acquisition creates a "unique multi-omics" company that offers "a powerful union of genomic expertise with cutting-edge cell and tissue analysis solutions" to further help "drug development research and biomarker discovery."

Zellkraftwerk's ChipCytometry microfluidic platform includes products and research services for high-content cytometry on cells and tissues. The tool immobilizes cells in microfluidic chips, which are later stained with antibodies for multiplex biomarker detection.

In addition to the acquisition, Canopy Bio also closed a growth investment from Ampersand Capital Partners.

"Ampersand's expertise and resources will benefit Canopy as we build a broader product and service offering for our customers, and the Zellkraftwerk acquisition provides a meaningful contribution to this strategy," Canopy Cofounder and CEO Edward Weinstein said in a statement.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"As the scientific community continues to appreciate the roles and relationships between genotypes, phenotypes, and the environment, the need for 'multi-omic' approaches to biomarker discovery and functional biology research has never been clearer," Zellkraftwerk Cofounder Jan Detmers said in a statement. "We are excited to partner with Canopy Biosciences and Ampersand to enhance our capabilities, scale, and geographic reach in the US, Europe, and Asia as we strive to best serve the evolving needs of our customers."

Earlier this month, Canopy launched its RareSeq error-corrected sequencing service, which removes errors generated during next-generation sequencing to separate rare mutations from background noise.

The Scan

Machine Learning Helps ID Molecular Mechanisms of Pancreatic Islet Beta Cell Subtypes in Type 2 Diabetes

The approach helps overcome limitations of previous studies that had investigated the molecular mechanisms of pancreatic islet beta cells, the authors write in their Nature Genetics paper.

Culture-Based Methods, Shotgun Sequencing Reveal Transmission of Bifidobacterium Strains From Mothers to Infants

In a Nature Communications study, culture-based approaches along with shotgun sequencing give a better picture of the microbial strains transmitted from mothers to infants.

Microbial Communities Can Help Trees Adapt to Changing Climates

Tree seedlings that were inoculated with microbes from dry, warm, or cold sites could better survive drought, heat, and cold stress, according to a study in Science.

A Combination of Genetics and Environment Causes Cleft Lip

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers investigate what combination of genetic and environmental factors come into play to cause cleft lip/palate.