Berkeley Lights Accelerating Antibody Discovery with Launch of Rabbit Memory B Cell Workflow

Enables access to a broad range of biodiversity to find unique antibodies against challenging targets

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Nov. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkeley Lights, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLI), a leader in digital cell biology, today announced the launch of the Opto^® Memory B Discovery Rabbit workflow, expanding the diversity of antibodies customers can discover on the Beacon^® platform.

The new workflow enables rapid, automated generation of antigen-specific, functional monoclonal antibodies from rabbit memory B cells, building on prior workflows that used mouse plasma B cell samples. This workflow broadens Berkeley Lights' market opportunity beyond mouse workflows, enabling discovery of high-value rabbit antibodies that are well-suited for therapeutics, diagnostics and research reagents. While there are currently no robust markers to enrich rabbit plasma B cells, rabbit memory B cells can be readily obtained from blood and easier to source and handle than plasma B cells.

Using the Opto Memory B Discovery Rabbit workflow, Berkeley Lights estimates the Beacon platform can:

• Screen approximately 15,000 to 60,000 single cells per workflow, depending on chip selection and number of chips used per workflow;
• Identify hundreds to thousands of antigen-specific hits per workflow; and
• Recover high-quality antibody sequences for the majority of discovered hits

"We are continuing to advance our workflows in antibody discovery to help our customers find high-value molecules against the most difficult targets," said Siddhartha Kadia, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Berkeley Lights. "This new workflow targeting rabbit memory B cells expands the diversity of antibodies that our customers can discover on the Beacon platform and offers a superior alternative to traditional methods, which are more costly and time-consuming. Using this technology, our customers will be able to rapidly screen rabbit memory B cells for discovery, recovery, and sequencing of functionally characterized antibodies in just a single week."

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. 

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.

SOURCE Berkeley Lights, Inc.