The biotech bi-weekly: cell barcoding, compound optimization and the Trillion Cell Atlas
Over the last 2 weeks, the biotech community has been all about collaborations, with partnerships facilitating the evaluation of off-target chemotherapeutic toxicities, the launch of the Trillion Cell Atlas and the advancement of veterinary immunology research. Plus, we gain an insight into what we can expect at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting (17–22 April; CA, USA) from Ryvu Therapeutics (Kraków, Poland), as well as the lineup for The Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS; IL, USA) Innovation AveNEW program at SLAS Europe 2026 Conference and Exhibition (19–21 May; Vienna, Austria).
Products
Cell barcoding technology for faster drug discovery
Biotium (CA, USA), a provider of fluorescent reagents and kits for life science research, has announced the release of the ViaPlex™ 2-Color Cell Barcoding Kit. Combining fluorescent staining with two reactive dyes, the ViaPlex™ kit allows researchers to label and combine up to 15 distinct cell populations for multiplex analysis in a single tube, reducing reagent consumption and sample running time without compromising data quality.
Accessing accurate affinity predictions to guide compound optimization
Optibrium (Cambridge, UK), a developer of software and AI solutions for molecular design, has announced a new QuanSA™ plugin for PyMOL, providing an intuitive graphical user interface for its ligand-based binding affinity prediction method, part of their BioPharmics 3D molecular modeling platform. The new interface facilitates chemists’ access to accurate affinity predictions that guide the design of potent compounds and reduces the synthesis and testing burden in lead optimization.
Offering an alternative to traditional plasmid DNA
Touchlight (Hampton, UK), in collaboration with New England Biolabs (MA, USA), has announced the launch of the EnClose™ Cell-free dbDNA™ Synthesis Kit, a new benchtop solution enabling rapid enzymatic production of Touchlight’s proprietary doggybone DNA™. This linear, covalently closed, double-stranded DNA format offers researchers a fast, cell-free alternative to traditional plasmid DNA, supporting the growing demand for nucleic acid therapeutics.
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Partnerships
Evaluating off-target chemotherapeutic toxicities in patient-specific organoids
iXCells Biotechnologies (CA, USA), a provider of human cell-based solutions and custom iPSC services, has announced that it has entered an international collaboration with Rosebud Biosciences (CA, USA), Kantify (Brussels, Belgium) and Incite (CA, USA) to evaluate off-target chemotherapeutic toxicities in patient-specific organoids. Building on iXCells’ recent partnership with Rosebud and funded by Incite, the project will initially focus on predicting toxicity in heart, liver and kidney tissue models to develop personalized, multi-organ toxicity profiles for novel chemotherapies.
Launching the Trillion Gene Atlas
Basecamp Research (London, UK), a frontier AI lab for biological design, has announced the launch of the Trillion Gene Atlas, a landmark scientific initiative to generate and model biological data at the trillion-gene scale. Launched in collaboration with Anthropic, Ultima Genomics and PacBio (all CA, USA), and powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure, the Trillion Gene Atlas aims to expand known evolutionary genetic diversity 100-fold by collecting genomic data from more than 100 million species across thousands of sites worldwide.
Advancing veterinary immunology research
ProImmune (Oxford, UK), an immunological reagents and services company, has announced a collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute (UK) to advance veterinary immunology research through development and validation of novel species-specific Ankyron® binders. Increased understanding of animal health through the application of ProImmune’s proprietary Ankyron binding technology will enable development of new strategies for prevention, control and diagnosis, of both veterinary and zoonotic diseases, overcoming challenges associated with the limited availability of high-quality, species-specific research reagents.
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People & presentations
Presenting preclinical on the ONCO platform at AACR 2026
Ryvu Therapeutics, a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company focusing on novel therapies that address emerging targets in oncology, has announced it will present preclinical data on the ONCO Prime platform at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting. Ryvu also announced a new grant agreement with the National Centre for Research and Development (Warsaw, Poland) for the co-financing of its PERO project, which enhances Ryvu’s discovery engine by extending target identification capabilities into precise, rational drug design.
Adding commercial and bioprocess leadership
Abselion (Cambridge, UK), a life sciences technology company focused on simplifying biomolecule quantification, has announced that it has appointed Dale Gordon as Chair of the Board of Directors. His appointment strengthens governance and board-level expertise at Abselion, adding experienced commercial and bioprocess leadership as the company builds on the recent establishment of its US subsidiary and continues to develop its global engagement.
Announcing Innovation AveNEW program lineup
SLAS has introduced the 12 companies selected for the Innovation AveNEW program at SLAS Europe 2026 Conference and Exhibition. Innovation AveNEW is the Society’s established program for startups, designed to support emerging companies in the life sciences discovery and technology sectors, and connect them with the international scientific community.
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