Lightcast Announces Limited Commercial Release of Envisia™ Single-Cell Functional Analysis Platform for Antibody Discovery

Company to unveil droplet-based instrument and present new data from pharmaceutical and academic collaborators at PEGS Boston Summit

Lightcast Discovery Ltd., a pioneering life science tools company, today announced the limited commercial release of its Envisia™ benchtop platform — a breakthrough droplet-based, single-cell functional analysis system designed to accelerate antibody discovery and development. The company will debut the instrument at booth #711 and present new data from its technology access program at the Essential Protein and Antibody Engineering Summit (PEGS), taking place May 12-16, 2025, in Boston.

“The Lightcast Envisia platform is truly one of a kind, enabling us to analyze single-cell functional activity in real time,” said Toon Swings, PhD, Technology Expert at VIB. “We are able to track cell behavior, administer treatments, and monitor responses over time, which helps identify and select cells of interest for downstream studies.”

While traditional single-cell analysis techniques often rely on genomic data to infer function, the Envisia platform uses droplet microfluidics to perform highly controlled, sequential single-cell functional assays that capture rich functional data sets to improve decision making. Built around Lightcast’s proprietary light-controlled droplet manipulation technology, the platform enables parallel interrogation of tens of thousands of picoliter-scale droplets, offering unmatched precision and flexibility. By integrating functional screening early in the antibody discovery process, the Envisia platform allows researchers to select and advance the most promising candidates. It also opens new possibilities in cell-cell interaction studies and broader applications in immunology and oncology.

“The Lightcast team is excited to introduce Envisia to the scientific community at PEGS Boston and to highlight the cutting-edge work being done by our pharmaceutical and academic collaborators,” said Paul Loeffen, PhD, CEO of Lightcast. “This limited product release marks a major milestone as we shift from technology development to customer-driven deployment. Researchers can secure their place now to gain a first-mover advantage and access to unprecedented functional insights that will power the next wave of innovative biologics and therapies.”

Featured PEGS Boston Presentations

Advances in Immunotherapy Luncheon

“Advancing Antibody Discovery with Single-Cell, Function-Focused Profiling”

Presenters:

Paul Loeffen, PhD, CEO of Lightcast

Kathrin Herbst, PhD, Director of Science at Lightcast

Date/Time: May 12, 2025, at 12:40 pm EDT

Poster Number: A60

Poster Presenter: Simon Margerison

Date/Time: May 12-13, 2025

As part of the limited release, Lightcast is working closely with leading pharmaceutical and academic institutions to validate performance, optimize protocols, and expand application areas, all in preparation for the launch of a diverse array of validated protocols later in 2025. The complete Envisia workflow will include advanced instrumentation, intelligent software, a purpose-built cartridge system, and assay kits optimized to a broad array of functional applications. The fully automated, end-to-end workflows will support a wide range of cell types, assay formats, and research applications. To learn more about the Envisia platform, visit www.lightcast.bio.

About Lightcast

Lightcast Discovery aims to unleash new capabilities within the single-cell analysis field by developing a more accessible, scalable, and flexible platform for scientists in basic, translational, and applied research. These capabilities will empower new biological discoveries and accelerate the development of novel drugs, therapies, and biologics. Founded in 2019 and based in Cambridge, UK, Lightcast has invented a technology that uses rays of light to control picoliter-scale droplets for functional analysis of individual cells. For more information, visit www.lightcast.bio.

Lightcast, the Lightcast logo, and Envisia are trademarks of Lightcast Discovery Ltd.

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“The Lightcast Envisia platform is truly one of a kind, enabling us to analyze single-cell functional activity in real time,” said Toon Swings, PhD, Technology Expert at VIB.