Company mergers happen all the time, and you probably don’t care very much as long as you can still watch your favorite TV shows, buy the snacks you want, or receive the services that you’re used to. So, when Pall and Cytiva joined forces in May 2023, one or more of these thoughts might have gone through your mind:
• Just make sure I still get my membranes, magbeads, resins, whatever on time.
• Darn, I liked the blue of Pall better than the green of Cytiva.
• What happened?
Well, hopefully the transition went smoothly on your end, and you did get the products and services you were expecting and you’re making peace with the color change. As for what happened, well, that’s a long story, and we don’t want to bore you with the details. Instead, let’s talk about what’s changing with our diagnostics solutions and how we are in an even stronger position to help you accelerate your molecular and immunoassay development.
Expanded portfolio to support your molecular and immunodiagnostics workflows
First, we have more “brane” power: membrane power. The portfolio of Whatman™ membranes and papers was large to begin with, so combining it with membranes and papers from the life science business of Pall increased the breadth and depth of our range. This huge range can help you optimize product performance and minimize development costs whether you need membranes or paper and pads for lateral flow, flow-through, and dry chemistry applications. You can choose from many different thicknesses, absorptions, and wicking rates. We even have a range of track-etched membranes for your molecular point-of-care applications and membranes for specific analytes including plasma separation.
Next, our beads can meet your needs. Our well-known and vast Sera-Mag™ magnetic bead portfolio is available in chemistries from carboxylate to streptavidin and from oligo (dT) to protein AG. This portfolio is complimented by our larger-diameter Mag Sepahrose™ beads and our silica-coated, nanometer-sized SeraSil-Mag™ beads.
According to research, 30% of people in the diagnostics industry use both magnetic beads and membranes in their daily work (Future of Diagnostics research study, April 2023). So, with both components under one roof and managed by one team of specialists, we can be a one stop shop for your needs and workflows whatever your application.
Customization: one size doesn’t fit all
You can order a wide range of magnetic beads, membranes, and reagents “off the rack” from Cytiva. But just like an off-the-rack shirt may not fit as well as you like, off-the-rack beads, membranes, and reagents might not be exactly what you need. In those cases, you can have solutions tailormade to your exact specifications. If you need to conjugate your own ligand or require a certain particle size, all the Sera-Mag™ magnetic beads can be customized. You can have bespoke cellulose and glass fiber pads, nitrocellulose membranes, and true-pore membranes designed to simplify point-of-care use of your immunodiagnostic assay. You can also get custom reagents such as buffers, fluorescent dyes, and enzymes.
Don’t be afraid to ask for something made just for you. When it comes to customization, our dedicated team will help you every step of the way, from defining the product specifications to delivery completion. And this is where our diagnostic services come in.
Expanded diagnostic services
Cytiva always had diagnostic services, but now it’s capital D, capital S, Diagnostic Services. With the added human power courtesy of the merger, the services team is even better staffed and equipped to help you accelerate the development and launch of your assays. We have associates in more than 40 countries and factories and collaboration centers around the world that are available for you. How can you benefit? The possibilities are endless…well nearly.
Training and assistance
For example, you can have custom training for your team. You can take classes from our experienced team to learn anything from the basics of immunoassay test development to topics that you specifically ask for. These classes are tailored just for you, and you are the only students—so everything will be relevant to your needs. And if the classroom sessions aren’t enough, you can ask for a targeted workshop that focuses on the area of development where you face the most challenges. But the services don’t end with the classes and workshops! You can have continuing support from our team. We’re just a phone call or email away.
Contract development
Another option you have is to use our contract development services. You can pick our brains and even get us to do some of the work for you. You can also save on development cost by using our purpose-built lab spaces in Cardiff, UK; Dassel, Germany; or Tonglu, China. These labs already have specialized equipment and meet the standards set by regulatory requirements.
Using contract development services for your immunoassay will allow you to bridge gaps in your capacity. We can help you with stability studies; raw material inspection; method development, transfer, and qualification; troubleshooting; and much more. And we’ll be transparent about everything you ask us to do. We’ll be in constant contact with you and will share all documentation and knowledge generated from our work.
Lyophilization services
“Set it and forget it!” was a tagline in an old TV infomercial that could apply to Lyo-Stable™ services. Lyophilization is the process of freeze-drying reagents in such a way that they remain biologically active. The reagents can then be kept at ambient temperatures, which simplifies shipping, handling, and storage. You’ll no longer need to worry about cold-chain requirements, polystyrene boxes, or freezer space.
Our Lyo-Stable™ services can dispense your reaction reagents in tubes, strips, PCR plates, or in a format appropriate for your assay device. Everything will be ready for point-of-care use and is automation friendly. “Lyophilize it and forget it” doesn’t really roll off the tongue, but that’s what this service can do.
Big or small we do it all
Now that you’ve read what Cytiva Diagnostic Services does in general terms, how about some concrete examples? We put together two eBooks of case studies of a few of our recent diagnostic projects. We worked with small (<100 employees) and big (<10 000 employees) companies and had projects that ranged from a few months of work to years of close collaboration. Some projects were small and were as simple as modifying an existing product, and other projects were large such as when we designed a complete diagnostic kit.
So. What can we do for you?