BD公司收购单细胞基因组学新型公司Cellular Research

  近日，BD公司表示，周二市场收盘后它们就已经收购了位于旧金山港湾区的单细胞基因组新型公司Cellular Research；Cellular Research 公司在2011年被斯坦福大学以及硅谷的企业家创立，用于进行单细胞基因组学的细胞研究，目前研究者们已经开发出了新型的工具，可以基于专有的分子索引技术来开发用于大规模并行单细胞遗传学分析的工具。
  类似DNA条码技术，分子索引可以在反转录过程中在细胞内部进行单个mRNA分子的编码，从而就可以产生高度多重的基因表达谱。BD公司表示，通过将该技术同细胞分类技术、流式细胞术及产品组合技术相结合，就可以为科学家们提供一个完整的样品准备工作站来对单一细胞中的基因表达水平进行定量化操作及研究分析。
  而这种完整的工作站也可以帮助研究者更好地理解单细胞的基因组特性，并且帮助在多个领域开发鉴别新型的靶向临床诊断疗法，比如免疫学领域、免疫肿瘤学领域、个体化疗法领域等。
  BD公司和Cellular Research公司已经在单细胞测序领域达成了合作开发的市场协议，同时单细胞测序将会把分子条形码技术同BD公司的FACS单细胞分选设备相结合；在这份声明中，BD生命科学部总裁Linda Tharby表示，对Cellular Research的收购基于2014年BD公司对爱尔兰样品制备公司GenCell的收购，当然这凸显了BD公司对基因组学研究领域的重视，它们将重点关注与新一代测序样本的制备工作。
  目前Cellular Research公司主要提供Pixel系统（Pixel System），该系统可以从单细胞基因表达研究的角度来提供对mRNA的绝对数字定量；该公司计划在2016年发起一项大规模的并行单细胞RNA测序的应用程序。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）
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Becton Dickinson Acquires Single-Cell Genomics Startup Cellular Research

Becton Dickinson said after the close of the market Tuesday that it has acquired San Francisco Bay Area single-cell genomics startup Cellular Research for an undisclosed amount.

Founded in 2011 by Stanford University and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs including Stephen Fodor, Glenn Fu, and Stephen Quake, Cellular Research has developed tools for massively parallel single-cell genetic analysis based on its proprietary molecular indexing technology.

Similar to DNA barcoding techniques, molecular indexing encodes individual mRNA molecules within single cells at the time of reverse transcription, enabling the generation of highly multiplexed gene expression profiles.

BD said that by combining this technology with its cell sorting and flow cytometry expertise and product portfolio, it will be able to provide researchers with an integrated sample prep workflow to quantify and study gene expression in large numbers of individual cells. The comprehensive workflow is intended to enable researchers to better understand the genomic diversity of single cells and help identify new approaches for targeted clinical diagnostics and therapies in fields such as immunology, immune-oncology, and personalized medicine, BD said.

BD and Cellular Research already had a co-marketing agreement in place for single-cell sequencing that combined the molecular barcoding technology with BD's FACS single-cell sorting instruments.

In a statement, Linda Tharby, president of BD Life Sciences, noted that the addition of Cellular Research builds on BD's October 2014 acquisition of Irish sample prep automation firm GenCell "and underscores BD's commitment to a genomics strategy focused on next-generation sequencing sample preparation."

Cellular Research currently offers the Pixel System, which provides absolute digital mRNA quantitation from single cells for gene expression studies. It also told GenomeWeb in February that its plans to launch a massively parallel single-cell RNA-seq application in 2016.