Berkeley Lights Announces GSK Acquires Third Beacon® Optofluidic System to Expand Antibody Therapeutics Development

Rhea-AI Summary

Berkeley Lights announced that GlaxoSmithKline has acquired an additional Beacon Optofluidic system to enhance its antibody therapeutics capabilities. This strategic move aims to accelerate the functional analysis and lead selection processes in therapeutic development. The purchase is part of GSK's commitment to utilizing high-throughput screening technologies, further highlighting the value of Berkeley Lights' platform. The acquisition contributes to GSK's ongoing efforts in biotherapeutics and marks a successful quarter with 13 new platform placements reported.

Positive

• Expansion of GSK's antibody therapeutics capacity through the purchase of an additional Beacon system.
• Accelerated discovery and development of therapeutics demonstrated by the adoption of the Beacon Optofluidic system.

Negative

• None.

GSK adds antibody discovery workflow to current cell line development process

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Berkeley Lights, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLI), a leader in digital cell biology, today announced that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has purchased an additional Beacon™ Optofluidic system to expand its antibody therapeutics capacity. The new Beacon system will leverage Berkeley Lights’ Opto™ Plasma B Discovery workflow to perform functional analysis, further accelerating the lead selection process.

"We are pleased that GSK has again selected the Beacon Optofluidic system as part of their ongoing activities to accelerate discovery, development, and delivery of therapeutics," said Eric Hobbs, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Berkeley Lights. “BLI’s platform represents a step change in high-throughput screening technology and can be used to discover new insights in functional biology research and therapeutics discovery. GSK’s broadening adoption demonstrates the value of our streamlined functional screening platform that is capable of observing rare interactions, underpinned by a unique combination of high-throughput screening and live biology.”

The Beacon system purchased by GSK is inclusive of the 13 new platform placements for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, which was pre-announced on October 12, 2021.

More on the Beacon system
The Beacon system is the most flexible, advanced high throughput functional screening platform on the market with customers featuring the technology as their competitive advantage in a variety of markets including antibody discovery and cell line development, gene therapy and synthetic biology.

The Beacon system workflow is proven to be a better, more advanced way to process and analyze cells that saves customers time, money, and effort because of its:

• Single cell-based workflow that shortens the selection process to just days;
• Tracking of phenotype and genotype of single cells or clones; 
• Automation and scaling workflows far beyond manual, time-intensive analysis; and 
• Generation of greater insights through deep profiling of each cell or clone.

Berkeley Lights 
Berkeley Lights is a leading digital cell biology company focused on enabling and accelerating the rapid development and commercialization of biotherapeutics and other cell-based products for our customers. The Berkeley Lights Platform captures deep phenotypic, functional and genotypic information for thousands of single cells in parallel and can also deliver the live biology customers desire in the form of the best cells. Our platform is a fully integrated, end-to-end solution, comprising proprietary consumables, including our OptoSelect™ chips and reagent kits, advanced automation systems, and application software. We developed the Berkeley Lights Platform to provide the most advanced environment for rapid functional characterization of single cells at scale, the goal of which is to establish an industry standard for our customers throughout their cell-based product value chain.

Berkeley Lights’ Beacon^® and Lightning^™ systems and Culture Station^™ instrument are FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Forward-Looking Statements 
To the extent that statements contained in this press release are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Berkeley Lights or its products, they are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that relate to future events, and actual results and product performance could differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Berkeley Lights undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties relating to the Company’s growth and continual evolution see the statements in the "Risk Factors" sections, and elsewhere, in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Media Contacts
Media@berkeleylights.com

Investor Contact 
IR@berkeleylights.com

FAQ

What is the purpose of GSK's purchase of the Beacon system from Berkeley Lights?

GSK aims to enhance its antibody therapeutics capacity and accelerate the lead selection process in drug development.

How many Beacon systems has GSK purchased in total?

GSK has purchased an additional Beacon system, part of a total of 13 new platform placements for the quarter.

What impact does the Beacon system have on therapeutic development?

The Beacon system is expected to streamline functional analysis and improve the speed of selecting leads, enhancing overall therapeutic development.

What technology does the Beacon system leverage?

The Beacon system utilizes the Opto Plasma B Discovery workflow for functional analysis in antibody discovery.

When was the acquisition of the Beacon system announced?

The acquisition was announced on October 26, 2021.