Navignostics cooperating with Standard BioTools

Navignostics from Horgen in the canton of Zurich and the North American firm Standard BioTools will in future seek to jointly open up access to imaging mass cytometry (IMC) in pharmaceutical and clinical research. Navignostics focuses on personalized diagnostics for cancer patients, or more precisely, spatial single-cell proteomics. This facilitates the identification of an optimal treatment plan for an individual patient’s tumor.

“Our ability to automate and standardize this process with IMC has really pushed us to where we are now, bringing novel developments into the clinical space to help inform treatment decisions for cancer patients”, as Jana Fischer, CEO of Navignostics, which was founded as a spin-off from the University of Zurich (UZH) in 2022, explains in a press release. Her company has its roots in the Bodenmiller Lab at UZH, which first developed spatial single-cell proteomics. For this, a large number of proteins are measured in a tumor sample with spatial resolution, which allows algorithms to be used to determine which cell types are present, which processes are deregulated in these cells, and how tumor cells influence other cells within the tumor microenvironment.

The Hyperion XTi Imaging System developed by Standard BioTools should contribute to further automation, rapid data capture and extended system stability. The “exciting partnership” between Navignostics and Standard BioTools will play a crucial role in bringing IMC “to the forefront of clinical research by generating the quality of data that can be translated into tangible results”, according to Michael Egholm, President and CEO of Standard BioTools. The two companies will now focus on jointly developing further improvements to this system. ce/mm