BD Partners with Penn Institute to Advance Immunotherapy Research Through High-Parameter Flow Cytometry
Key Insights
BD (search) and the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (search) announced a strategic collaboration to advance deep human immune profiling and support immune-mediated therapy development.
The partnership will develop and validate a high-parameter flow cytometry panel capable of capturing 30+ cellular characteristics, including phosphorylation markers that reveal single-cell responses to drugs and disease states.
The collaboration will support a planned 1,000-patient immune profiling study in partnership with the Penn Colton Center for Autoimmunity (search), expected to begin this summer.
BD (search) (Becton, Dickinson and Company) announced a strategic collaboration with the Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (search) (I3H) at the University of Pennsylvania to advance research in deep human immune profiling and support the development of immune-mediated therapies. The partnership aims to transform human immune profiling capabilities through advanced flow cytometry technology.
Advanced Flow Cytometry Panel Development
The collaboration centers on developing and validating a high-parameter flow cytometry panel capable of capturing key functional pathways in whole blood. The panel will investigate 30+ cellular characteristics, including phosphorylation markers that provide powerful insights into how single cells respond to drugs or disease states. This technology represents a significant advancement in understanding immune system responses at the cellular level.
"This project demonstrates the power of collaboration between academia and industry," said Dr. E. John Wherry, PhD, the Richard and Barbara Schiffrin President's Distinguished Professor, director of the Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (search) at the University of Pennsylvania, and the director of the Colton Consortium for Autoimmunity (search). "We are bringing together cross-functional experts to transform human immune profiling for maximum impact, enabling deeper insights from our immune cells that could accelerate development of precise medical treatments."
Large-Scale Immune Profiling Study
The collaboration will support a planned 1,000-patient immune profiling study in partnership with the Penn Colton Center for Autoimmunity (search), expected to start this summer. The project will leverage the BD (search) FACSDiscover™ A8 Cell Analyzer, BD Rhapsody™ System, BD reagents, software and informatics. BD teams will manage reagents, instrumentation, and spectral data algorithms, while I3H teams will serve as scientific and clinical leads. The team intends to publish a peer-reviewed manuscript describing the results of the study.
Breakthrough Technology Platform
The collaboration is made possible by the BD (search) FACSDiscover™ A8 Cell Analyzer, which is the first cell analyzer featuring breakthrough spectral and real-time cell imaging technologies, and the new BD Horizon™ Chroma solution for dried high-parameter panels. This technology enables previously infeasible high-parameter single-cell studies that are becoming central to better understanding the human immune system.
"High-parameter single-cell studies of this kind, once considered infeasible, are increasingly becoming central to better understanding the human immune system," said Steve Conly, worldwide president of BD Biosciences (search). "Our ecosystem of industry-leading BD (search) flow cytometers, single-cell systems, reagents, software and informatics, provide a critical missing puzzle piece that can support the important work of organizations like I3H to translate and deliver immunological insights into quantitative, actionable information for discovery and clinical care teams around the world."
Research Impact and Future Applications
The collaboration reflects a shared vision of unlocking the power of the human immune system to advance science and health. The project supports the commitment of both organizations to contribute to the research community through collaboration and knowledge sharing. The advanced immune profiling capabilities developed through this partnership could accelerate the development of precise medical treatments and provide deeper insights into immune system function in health and disease.