SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluidigm Corporation (Nasdaq:FLDM), an innovative biotechnology tools provider with a vision to improve life through comprehensive health insight, today announced the establishment of a new Center of Excellence (CoE) for Imaging Mass Cytometry™ (IMC™) in Singapore together with the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), part of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

“We are excited about this partnership and committed to harnessing the full power of mass cytometry technology to advance biomarker discovery and accelerate the development of innovative new medicines and diagnostics,” said Professor Laurent Renia, Executive Director of SIgN. “The dual capabilities of this Center of Excellence will enable a more comprehensive view of disease pathology, new research advances, and better support of clinical and industry partnerships with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and global scientific consortiums.”

As the first CoE for IMC in Singapore and Southeast Asia, the center will focus on single-cell deep spatial immunoprofiling to demonstrate the utility of highly multiplexed imaging across a range of disease areas such as cancer immunology. IMC, based on CyTOF® technology, is revolutionizing translational and clinical research by providing unprecedented visualization of complex cellular phenotypes and their relationships in the context of cancer, immuno-oncology, and immune-mediated diseases. Using the CoE’s dual capabilities of performing both mass cytometry and IMC, researchers will be able to deeply profile a wide range of samples from blood to tissues, all on the same system using highly multiplexed cytometry and tissue imaging.

To be housed in SIgN’s premises at Biopolis, Singapore’s biomedical research hub, the new CoE will serve as a regional platform for scientific innovation, training, and services in mass cytometry and IMC and accelerate innovation in new product development and pre-commercial product testing.

“A key application of Imaging Mass Cytometry in clinical translational research will be to reveal the immune landscape of tumors to influence therapeutic strategies and interventions in immunotherapy,” said Associate Professor David Tan Shao Peng, a leading medical oncologist in women’s cancer at the National University Health System and Clinical Adjunct at SIgN.

“As a market leader in highly multiplexed imaging, we see this new CoE as an important milestone in our strategy to accelerate global adoption by providing greater access to new customers in Singapore and Southeast Asia,” said Chris Linthwaite, President and CEO of Fluidigm. “We look forward to working together with the experienced team at A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network and expanding our CoE program in the future with those who share our vision for advancing health care research.”

About Imaging Mass Cytometry
Imaging Mass Cytometry is setting a new standard in tissue imaging, significantly simplifying high-multiplex panel design and eliminating the impact of tissue autofluorescence by using highly pure metal tags for which signals are separated by mass instead of by wavelength. Incorporating an easy-to-use immunohistochemistry workflow that simultaneously detects many proteins in a single scan, IMC is ideal for uncovering new insights in health and disease and empowering the development of better diagnostics and more effective therapies.

About Fluidigm
Fluidigm (Nasdaq:FLDM) is an industry-leading biotechnology tools provider with a vision to improve life through comprehensive health insight. We focus on the most pressing needs in translational and clinical research, including cancer, immunology, and immunotherapy. Using proprietary CyTOF and microfluidics technologies, we develop, manufacture, and market multi-omic solutions to drive meaningful insights in health and disease, identify biomarkers to inform decisions, and accelerate the development of more effective therapies. Our customers are leading academic, government, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and plant and animal research laboratories worldwide. Together with them, we strive to increase the quality of life for all. For more information, visit fluidigm.com.

Fluidigm, the Fluidigm logo, CyTOF, Imaging Mass Cytometry, and IMC are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Fluidigm Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Fluidigm products are provided for Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Forward-Looking Statements for Fluidigm
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among others, statements regarding growth in adoption of Fluidigm technologies and products, applications and benefits for such technologies and products, and benefits of contractual arrangements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated results, including but not limited to risks relating to challenges inherent in developing, manufacturing, launching, marketing, and selling new products; potential product performance and quality issues; intellectual property risks; competition; uncertainties in contractual relationships; and reductions in research and development spending or changes in budget priorities by customers. Information on these and additional risks and uncertainties and other information affecting Fluidigm business and operating results is contained in Fluidigm’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Fluidigm disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.

Contacts:

Fluidigm
Media:
Michaeline Bunting
Senior Director, Marketing
650 737 4190
michaeline.bunting@fluidigm.com

Investors:
Agnes Lee
Vice President, Investor Relations
650 416 7423
agnes.lee@fluidigm.com

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