Molecular Devices Continues Investment in Organoid Innovation Center

Molecular Devices, LLC., a leading provider of high-performance life science solutions, this month celebrates the one-year anniversary of its automated 3D imaging workcell, the Organoid Innovation Center, located at the company’s global headquarters. Since the Center’s opening in April 2021, Molecular Devices has empowered researchers to automate sample prep and screening for assays performed on complex 3D biological models.

By adding the QPix® 400 Series Microbial Colony Picker and the ClonePix® 2 Mammalian Colony Picker to the Organoid Innovation Center, the platform now allows for early cell line development. This update expands the Center’s state-of-the-art methods and technologies to include automated workflows for synthetic biology, antibody discovery, and cell line development, in addition to those currently in place for automated organoid culturing and screening. Also, soon to be added is the recently launched CloneSelect® Imager FL with multi-channel fluorescence for day zero monoclonality verification, and confirmation of CRISPR edits, for a wide range of cell and gene therapy applications.

“We’re on the cusp of a transformational era of genomic medicine and gene-edited cell and gene therapies as innovative technology and specialized knowledge become more mainstream, making personalized therapeutic research and development increasingly accessible to more scientists,” said Dan O’Connor, Vice President, Drug Discovery, Molecular Devices. “By incorporating our synthetic biology-focused technology into the Organoid Innovation Center, we’re driving expanded capabilities for our customers as the industry heads toward an industrialization of biology, where automated synthetic biology, cell line development, and 3D biology research converge.”

New Product Highlights

• QPix colony pickers enable fully automated synthetic biology workflows for DNA assembly, antibody discovery, and protein engineering by combining intelligent control software and image analysis for fast and efficient screening of large libraries.
• ClonePix colony pickers support automated antibody discovery and cell line development workflows, allowing researchers to screen more clones in less time with optional monoclonal verification on day zero with high resolution imaging.
• The all new CloneSelect Imager FL features high-contrast multi-channel fluorescence and white light imaging to allow for accurate single cell detection and proof of monoclonality reporting at day zero with an audit-ready document that supports filing for an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application with the FDA (21 CFR Part 312).

These newly incorporated instruments expand the Center’s downstream, 2D cell line development capabilities, while automation and intuitive scheduling software ensure seamless interaction with systems that support upstream 3D biology culturing and screening applications. The Center now helps ease the transition from 2D to 3D biology for researchers, speeding up a transformative future for therapeutic drug discovery and development.

“As more cell and gene therapy products are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and enter the clinical market, Molecular Devices is poised to offer an end-to-end solution for automated discovery and scaleup to support the next great Investigational New Drug candidate,” O’Connor concluded.