Monash University Implements Antibody Discovery Application by Utilizing the Berkeley Lights Beacon® Platform

EMERYVILLE, Calif. and MELBOURNE, Australia, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkeley Lights, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLI), a leader in digital cell biology, today announced Monash University, one of Australia's leading universities, has implemented the use of the Berkeley Lights Beacon® system and Opto® Plasma B Discovery workflow for antibody discovery research. The technology is housed in the Monash Antibody Technology Facility (MATF) where researchers not only from Monash University but elsewhere in Victoria, Australia and worldwide can utilize their services for antibody production, assay development, robotics, high throughput screening and antibody characterization.

Since acquiring the Beacon Platform in early 2022, MATF scientists have developed significant expertise in using the Berkeley Lights technology and workflows. Specifically, the Beacon Platform has enabled them to expand their antibody discovery capacity beyond traditional hybridoma techniques, allowing them to offer a wider portfolio to their customers especially those with difficult targets using the Beacon single B cell-screening platforms for rapid antibody discovery.

In addition to MATF, Dr. Remy Robert, head of the Robert Lab associated with the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, and a member of the Immunity Program and the Department of Physiology, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, is utilizing the Beacon Platform. Dr. Robert and other lab associates are developing new classes of therapeutic mAbs against difficult targets using cutting-edge technologies like the Beacon Platform in mAbs development, engineering, and pre-clinical validation.

Dr. Yue Geng, general manager of the Platform business at Berkeley Lights, said, "We are pleased to be partnering with the Monash Antibody Technology Facility at Monash University and supporting their scientists in their adoption of the Berkeley Lights Platform for antibody discovery. Monash University has quickly adopted our advanced technology to further their scientific expertise and enable the advancement of critical therapeutics to market. We look forward to enabling Monash University as one of the world's leading high-impact research institutions."

Some of the research advantages that Monash has experienced to date by using the Beacon Platform include:

• Accelerating the screening of primary B cells on the Berkeley Lights Beacon system for antibody discovery by weeks compared to the standard hybridoma process;
• Facilitating rapid screening of thousands of single plasma cells on the same day as cell isolation; and
• Identifying target-binding candidates in just one day, and sequencing of variable chains as well as generating recombinant antibodies in 2–4 weeks.

About 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. 

About Monash University

Monash University is Australia's largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation. With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia, and Italy, it is one of the most internationalized Australian universities. As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, Monash University consistently ranks in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.  

Forward-Looking Statements 

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