News Summary
BD has announced a strategic collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H) to enhance research in human immune profiling. This partnership will focus on developing advanced immune-mediated therapies and involve a 1,000-patient immune profiling study set to commence in 2026. The collaboration will leverage BD’s technology, including the FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer, aiming to provide crucial insights into immune responses for improved personalized medicine.
Franklin Lakes, N.J. – BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, announced a significant strategic collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H) today. The partnership aims to accelerate research in deep human immune profiling and support the development of advanced immune-mediated therapies.
Advancing Immune Profiling Research
The core of this collaboration involves developing and validating a high-parameter flow cytometry panel. This advanced panel is designed to capture key functional pathways directly from whole blood, including phosphorylation markers. These markers provide crucial insights into how individual cells respond to drugs or various disease states.
A major initiative of this partnership is to support a planned 1,000-patient immune profiling study. This study will be conducted in collaboration with the Penn Colton Center for Autoimmunity and is anticipated to commence in the summer of 2026. The findings from this extensive study are intended to be published in a peer-reviewed manuscript, contributing to the broader scientific community’s understanding of immunology.
Technological Innovation and Expertise
The collaborative project will leverage BD’s cutting-edge technology, including the BD FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer, the BD Rhapsody System, along with BD reagents, software, and informatics tools. The BD FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer is notable as the first cell analyzer to incorporate both spectral and real-time cell imaging technologies. This sophisticated equipment will be instrumental in enabling the investigation of more than 30 cellular characteristics.
Under the terms of the arrangement, BD teams will be responsible for managing the reagents, instrumentation, and spectral data algorithms. Concurrently, the I3H teams at the University of Pennsylvania will take on the roles of scientific and clinical leads for the project. This division of responsibilities combines BD’s technological expertise with the University of Pennsylvania’s scientific and clinical research leadership.
The Importance of Immune Profiling
Immune profiling is a critical scientific endeavor that provides a deep understanding of the immune system’s functioning, encompassing the distribution, abundance, and activity of immune cells. This knowledge is essential for deciphering how the immune system responds to various challenges, such as pathogens, vaccines, and tumors. By analyzing diverse immune cell types, researchers can develop personalized medicine approaches that characterize individual variations in immune responses. This allows clinicians to tailor treatment strategies to a patient’s specific immune status, aiming to maximize therapeutic effectiveness while minimizing adverse effects.
Furthermore, immune profiling techniques can facilitate the early detection of immune system changes, potentially enabling timely interventions that could prevent disease progression. These techniques also help identify specific immune markers or signatures associated with various diseases, which can guide the development of targeted immunotherapies for conditions like cancer and autoimmune disorders. Monitoring immune cell populations allows healthcare providers to track a patient’s immune system response to a given treatment, thereby refining care pathways.
About the Collaborating Institutions
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) is a prominent global medical technology company committed to advancing the world of health. The company’s mission involves improving medical discovery, diagnostics, and the delivery of care by developing innovative technology, services, and solutions for healthcare professionals. BD has a history of strategic collaborations, including partnerships with McGill University and McMaster University in various research capacities.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H) was established through the merger of the Institute for Immunology (IFI) and Penn Medicine’s Immune Health (IH) organization. The I3H focuses on harnessing innovative technologies, such as groundbreaking mobile phlebotomy units and high-throughput assay platforms, to integrate clinical and experimental data for the future of medical care. The University of Pennsylvania has a distinguished history in immunology, being the first medical school to establish a separate degree-granting PhD program in Immunology. Researchers associated with the university, such as Peter R. Allen, who holds a PhD in Physics and Astronomy from UPenn and is a Lecturer at the University, have also contributed to fields relevant to immune profiling, including platforms for multisite immune profiling.
This collaboration between BD and the University of Pennsylvania underscores a shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of scientific understanding in immunology, with the ultimate goal of developing more precise and effective medical treatments for patients worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What is the purpose of the collaboration between BD and the University of Pennsylvania?
- The collaboration aims to advance research in deep human immune profiling and support the development of immune-mediated therapies.
- What specific technology will be used in this project?
- The project will utilize BD’s FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer, BD Rhapsody System, BD reagents, software, and informatics tools. The BD FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer features spectral and real-time cell imaging technologies.
- When is the planned immune profiling study expected to begin?
- A planned 1,000-patient immune profiling study, in partnership with the Penn Colton Center for Autoimmunity, is expected to begin in the summer of 2026.
- What is immune profiling?
- Immune profiling provides insights into the functioning of the immune system, including the distribution, abundance, and activity of immune cells, essential for understanding responses to pathogens, vaccines, tumors, and for developing personalized medicine approaches.
- Who will lead the scientific and clinical aspects of the study?
- The Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H) teams at the University of Pennsylvania will serve as the scientific and clinical leads for the project.
Key Features of the Collaboration
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Primary Collaborators | BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Immunology and Immune Health (I3H). |
| Main Objective | To advance deep human immune profiling research and support the development of immune-mediated therapies. |
| Key Project Component | Development and validation of a high-parameter flow cytometry panel to capture key functional pathways in whole blood. |
| Associated Study | A planned 1,000-patient immune profiling study in partnership with the Penn Colton Center for Autoimmunity. |
| Expected Study Start | Summer 2026. |
| BD Technologies Leveraged | BD FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer, BD Rhapsody System, BD reagents, software, and informatics. |
| Roles and Responsibilities | BD teams manage reagents, instrumentation, and spectral data algorithms; I3H teams serve as scientific and clinical leads. |
| Expected Output | Publication of findings in a peer-reviewed manuscript. |
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