BD Launches World’s First Spectral Cell Sorter with High-speed Cell Imaging in Singapore
Singapore, 15 August 2023 — BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, announced their commercial launch of a new-to-world cell sorting instrument in Singapore featuring two breakthrough technologies that enable researchers to uncover more detailed information about cells that were previously impossible in traditional flow cytometry experiments. The BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter is an advanced device-to-instrument that merges BD CellView™ Image Technology and BD SpectralFX™ Technology, enabling spectral flow cytometry with with real-time spatial and morphological insights to make sort decisions.
Singapore’s biomedical sector offers an integrated research and academic ecosystem, and this multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach sets Singapore apart from other biomedical research hubs. As of 2019, the biomedical manufacturing sector represents 20% of total manufacturing value added (S$19.57bn), equivalent to 4% of Singapore’s GDP.
Expanding the power of cell analysis and sorting to new dimensions
The BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter is an instrument that combines BD CellView™ Image Technology and BD SpectralFX™ Technology. With BD CellView™ Image Technology, researchers can see detailed images of individual cells and sort at high speeds based on visual characteristics to confirm insights in real time. With BD SpectralFX™ Technology, researchers can achieve full-spectrum cell sorting, coupled with expanded performance enabled by a new modular optical architecture and system-aware algorithms, to perform high-parameter experiments within a simplified workflow. The combination of these technologies in the BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter expands capabilities for researchers, introducing the potential to transform research and cell-based therapeutic development across numerous fields, including drug discovery, immune-oncology and genomics.
Accelerating Biomedical Innovation with Real-Time Cell Imaging and Sorting
With Singapore having a deep base of skilled talent, strong manufacturing capabilities and a thriving research ecosystem, the country has become the linchpin for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to establish their research capabilities. Researchers in Singapore and around the world can accelerate biomedical research and innovation in fields such as gene therapy, cancer immunology and stem cell research with a renewed ability to perform high complexity flow cytometry.
“The launch of the BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter, equipped with BD CellView™ Image Technology and BD SpectralFX™ Technology, marks a pivotal moment in the BD legacy of flow cytometry innovation, and we look forward to seeing how our customers, including those here in Central Asia, South Asia and Japan, use the innovation to push the boundaries of scientific discovery and impact human health,” commented Annie Chan, Vice President of BD Biosciences, Central, South Asia and Japan.
The BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter is the first BD instrument to feature BD SpectralFX™ Technology and BD CellView™ Image Technology, which was profiled last year on the cover of Science. The BD CellView™ Image Technology was instrumental in investigating regulators of the NF-κB pathway (nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells), which is vital for cellular immunity and stress response. The technology swiftly identified the novel regulators of this pathway, significantly reducing the time required compared to traditional methods. This breakthrough has significant implications for expediting genomic research and therapeutic development, providing a powerful tool for cell isolation, characterisation, and potential applications in diagnostics and understanding cellular behaviour in various health conditions.
As a leading biomedical sciences hub at the heart of Asia, The BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter provides substantial advantages to research laboratories, biopharmaceutical companies, and biotechnology laboratories in Singapore. It enables real-time visualisation and sorting of individual cells using both conventional flow cytometry signals and microscopic images, thereby facilitating high-parameter flow cytometry experiments.
“Together, we believe our BD CellView™ Image Technology and BD SpectralFX™ Technology usher in a new era of cell sorting and analysis to enable researchers to answer complex biological questions, such as how cells grow, function and interact, or to study exact locations of viruses or proteins within a cell, at a highly accelerated pace,” said Steve Conly, worldwide president of BD Biosciences.
“This technology represents the exciting next chapter in the BD legacy of flow cytometry innovation, and we look forward to now delivering the BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter to customers around the world to empower their novel applications and potentially life-changing discoveries.”
The BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter is now available locally. Please contact our Singapore office for more product information and orders. More information can be found at bdbiosciences.com/S8.
About BD
BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health™ by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 75,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians’ care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers’ capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/ and Twitter @BDandCo.
