17th July 2025

InBio and Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance Food Allergy Research with Next-Generation Basophil Activation Testing

InBio, a global leader in high-quality, purified allergen proteins, and Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, a Danaher company and a global leader in laboratory automation and innovation, are collaborating to enhance the performance of basophil activation tests (BAT) for food allergy research. The collaboration integrates InBio’s Food Protein Standards and purified allergens with Next-Generation Basophil Activation Test (BAT) platform from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences.

InBio’s Food Protein Standards and purified allergen components are potent, biologically active proteins derived from foods such as peanut, egg, milk, tree nuts, and shellfish. These reagents are a critical component for BAT tests, and are validated for immunological consistency, ensuring reproducibility in high-sensitivity assays.

“Allergens are the molecular engines of BAT testing” said Dr. Martin Chapman, CEO and Founder of InBio. “This partnership combines InBio’s expertise in food allergen manufacturing and engineering with next-gen BAT technology from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. Together, we can provide a robust, standardized approach for food allergy with greater accuracy and reproducibility which will advance food allergic research.”

Launched in the spring of 2025, the Next-Generation BAT* by Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is a research use only breakthrough in functional allergy testing that offers researchers a powerful tool to assess allergic sensitization and reactivity with greater precision. Leveraging advanced flow cytometry and automation to measure basophil activation in response to allergen exposure, the Next-Generation BAT is an in vitro alternative to oral food challenges. The integration of InBio’s food proteins ensures consistency in allergen stimulation, reducing variability and improving test interpretation.

“This collaboration with InBio represents another crucial step forward in evolving and innovating food allergy research to deliver results faster and significantly safer to vulnerable participants,” said Jean-Marc Busnel, PhD, Principal Investigator and Senior Staff Research Scientist at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. “Removing the complexities of oral food challenges opens new doors in food allergy research that can unleash pioneering new discoveries. Our collaboration puts this new innovation in reach to more laboratories around the world.”

BAT are functional assays measuring basophil activation in response to specific allergens or other stimuli. By leveraging dry technology to overcome traditional BAT challenges, standardization is enabled with conjugated antibodies and allergens pre-mixed and dried down together in a single tube, thereby enabling streamlined centrifugation-free BAT protocols consisting of only four pipetting steps. The Next-Generation BAT powered by InBio allergens can test for multiple allergens at once through a blood draw — saving hours of food testing and exposure to potentially harmful reactions.

About InBio

InBio, with locations in Charlottesville, VA USA, and Cardiff, Wales, specializes in manufacturing high-quality, purified allergens and test kits for allergy diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and immunological research. With a commitment to precision and standardization, InBio’s allergen molecules are used globally to support cutting-edge allergy science. Research made real! Learn more at www.inbio.com.

About Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Time is the most critical facet in the laboratory today: time to get life-saving therapies to patients faster; reclaiming time by automating tedious manual workflows; and saving time otherwise spent addressing erroneous or complex results.

At Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, A Danaher company, we are partners in time. We accelerate answers to critical questions through the power of efficiency, saving hours from some workflows and delivering reliable results in centrifugation, flow cytometry, genomic solutions, particle analysis/counters, and liquid handlers.

We develop innovations for scientists by scientists, with many of our 3,300+ global colleagues coming from the laboratory with a deep understanding of today’s challenges and complexities. We’re passionate about translating science in partnership with our customers, and our customizable, accessible and sustainable solutions empower them with intuitive workflow efficiencies.

Time and again customers put their trust in us, with 400,000+ of our built-to-last products currently delivering results in labs worldwide – all backed by our dependable service and application experts offering educational insights and tailored support.

It’s all part of our time-tested approach since 1935 to bring meaningful innovations at the speed of life—and we’re just beginning. Working together, let’s advance human health for a better tomorrow! Get to know us by clicking here and by following us on LinkedIn.

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is proud to be part of Danaher. Visit www.danaher.com to learn more about Danaher, a leading life sciences and diagnostics innovator committed to accelerating the power of science and technology to improve human health.