In our second iteration of the Innovation Awards, we will recognize the most innovative new products of the year for cell biology, genomics, and protein analysis. The editors of Instrument Business Outlook and the scientists who comprise Science and Medicine Group’s market insights team will determine the winners. This year’s categories are:
CELL BIOLOGY
These products range from consumable products used to study the physiological properties of cells such as their structure and organelles, their life cycle, division, function and death. And without quality mainstays such as cell culture, media, and media supplements—the lives of cells and scientists alike would be difficult! A As in other parts of the market, cell biology customers are looking for products that improve the flow of and/or automate the various steps of cell-based research including growth, isolation, expansion, analyzing, and production. Accordingly, many companies are devising innovative solutions to streamline and automate workflows for greater throughput, more reliable results and faster discoveries.
GENOMICS
The ever-expanding universe of applications for gene expression analysis products has made these technologies some of the most enticing and promising systems in recent times. Understanding the role of genetic variation is expected to profoundly change our perspective on human disease and the practice of medicine in the years to come. Across these two broad categories were everything from Reagents used to transform, modify or alter DNA to capital equipment used to manipulate nucleic acids, determine genetic sequences, or monitor gene expression levels. Companies competing in this segment of the market have had to be versatile and visionary, while still delivering results based upon their core technology or offering. As genomics research becomes more complex, scientists seek out products that improve the flow of and/or automate the various steps of a genomics experiment from sample preparation to assay set-up.
PROTEIN ANALYSIS
Protein expression is commonly used by researchers to denote the measurement of the presence and abundance of one or more proteins in a particular cell or tissue. We defined this category as consisting of products used to conduct protein expression profiling, identify protein targets for biomarker or pathway research, perform multiplex analysis of multiple disease categories, and so on. To gain a comprehensive understanding of protein function and regulation, researchers must separate proteins, then identify and characterize the expressed proteins. And as we entered the post-genome era, scientists embarked on the quest to uncover the functional application of genes as expressed in the proteome created a new frontier and the need for new technologies and integrated workflows for large scale proteomics.
