The multi-year collaboration aims to integrate robotic liquid-handling capabilities with BD single-cell instruments to accelerate disease research and drug development.
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) and Opentrons Labworks Inc have announced a multi-year collaboration to integrate robotic liquid-handling capabilities into BD single-cell multiomics instruments, aiming to automate critical experimental steps and accelerate disease research and drug development.
The partnership will focus on integrating the BD Rhapsody System with the Opentrons Flex platform, along with developing verified protocols that allow scientists to perform hands-free workflows with their single-cell multiomics experiments.
“By revealing the multiple layers of biological information within cells, the field of single-cell multiomics is quickly transforming research in oncology, immunology, and beyond—and automation can further accelerate adoption, especially in translational and biopharma settings,” says Ranga Partha, PhD, vice president/general manager of global marketing and strategic growth areas at BD Biosciences, in a release.
Automation-Compatible Module in Development
A cornerstone of the collaboration involves developing an automation-compatible module for the BD Rhapsody System that will enable next-generation sequencing library preparation and cell capture steps to be automated. The integration aims to work with BD’s Rhapsody HT Xpress System, which enables million-cell studies.
“By integrating robotics with our instruments—including the BD Rhapsody HT Xpress System, which enables million-cell studies—we are helping scientists access potentially life-changing insights with greater speed, scale, and reproducibility,” says Partha in a release.
The collaboration brings together BD’s single-cell multiomics expertise with Opentrons’ automation ecosystem. Opentrons has deployed more than 10,000 robotic systems worldwide and achieved unicorn status after raising over $200 million in funding.
Making Single-Cell Sequencing More Accessible
“This collaboration brings together the long-standing expertise of BD in the field of single-cell multiomics with the flexible and open automation ecosystem of Opentrons,” says James Atwood, PhD, chief executive officer of Opentrons Labworks, in a release. “By combining our hardware platforms, we are making it easier and more cost-effective for labs everywhere, across basic and translational research, to perform cutting-edge single-cell sequencing at scale.”
Early access opportunities for interested laboratories will be available soon. The companies will showcase the collaboration at the American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting in Boston from Oct 14-18.
Photo caption: Opentrons Flex Proteomics Workstation
Photo credit: BD/Opentrons
