Orion HT and Orion LE extend the Orion platform from assay development through clinical trials, backed by an expanding biomarker reagent portfolio and commercial leadership focused on global growth

RareCyte^®, a leader in precision biology products and technologies, today announced a significant expansion of its spatial proteomics portfolio with the commercial launch of the Orion™ HT and Orion™ LE systems, alongside the appointment of Neil Kennedy as President. These advancements position the company to accelerate adoption of spatial proteomics in clinical and translational research.

“The expansion of the Orion platform and our growing reagent portfolio reflect RareCyte’s commitment to building technologies that advance biomarker-driven clinical research and drug development,” said Joe Victor, Chief Executive Officer of RareCyte. “With Neil’s leadership, we are well positioned to accelerate adoption of our innovative technologies across pharmaceutical and translational research organizations globally.”

The Orion platform is purpose-built to deliver high-plex spatial proteomics with the throughput, sensitivity, and reproducibility required for biomarker development in clinical research. By enabling applications such as patient stratification, therapy response assessment, and translational biomarker validation, Orion helps translate spatial biology into clinical decision making. The addition of Orion HT and Orion LE extends the platform across the full continuum of translational research, from early assay development and validation through clinical trial execution.

The newest instrument, the Orion HT, is designed for clinical-scale biomarker programs, delivering high-plex, high-throughput, and high-capacity spatial proteomics with 24/7 hands-off operation enabled by 30-slide automation. Powered by paradigm-shifting 20-channel whole slide scanning, it is the only spatial proteomics system that combines these capabilities with the accuracy and reproducibility required to translate spatial insights into clinical impact.

“We are excited to offer multiplex immunofluorescence for clinical trial biomarker testing leveraging the powerful Orion HT technology,” said Jennifer Bordeaux, Associate Director of Pathology Services at Navigate Biopharma Solutions. “As pioneers in multiplex immunofluorescence for clinical trials, this technology enables us to efficiently run high-plex assays in a regulated setting.”

Complementing the high-throughput system, Orion LE provides an affordable and streamlined solution for biomarker panel development, assay optimization, and translational studies.

“The application of Orion LE technology to FFPE tissue samples from cancer patient cohorts enables high‑precision, high‑throughput, and spatially resolved analyses of antitumor immune responses within the tumor microenvironment, as well as the organization and behavior of surrounding normal cells,” said Shogo Kumagai, M.D., Ph.D., Chief, Division of Molecular Immunology, Cancer Precision Medicine Center at the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research (JFCR). “By combining high multiplexing capability with robust performance on clinically relevant FFPE samples, Orion LE provides a powerful platform that bridges discovery research and pathology. We anticipate that this approach will significantly support reverse translational research and help uncover biological mechanisms that remain unexplained within current molecular immunology frameworks.”

Additionally, RareCyte offers services via their Seattle-based CLIA lab. These services enable biotech and pharmaceutical partners to develop robust and reproducible assays prior to transfer to contract research organizations (CROs) for high volume clinical trials. This end-to-end approach helps streamline adoption and ensures consistency from early development through clinical studies.

RareCyte also announced a major expansion of its spatial biology reagent portfolio, which now includes more than 200 validated antibodies developed through partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies. The company expects to expand this portfolio to more than 300 antibodies by the end of 2026, enabling researchers to design and scale multiplex biomarker panels with greater confidence and flexibility.

The company further announced the appointment of Neil Kennedy as President. In this role, Kennedy will lead the company’s commercial strategy, with an initial focus on scaling sales and marketing to support continued growth in clinical research markets. He brings extensive experience in life sciences and spatial biology, most recently serving as Chief Commercial Officer of Curio Bioscience until its acquisition by Takara Bio USA.

“Spatial biology is moving beyond discovery into clinical application, and our focus is to enable that transition,” said Kennedy. “With the expansion of the Orion platform, our growing reagent portfolio, and our laboratory services capabilities, we are providing an integrated solution that accelerates translational research and supports our customers’ move from biomarker development to clinical trials with greater speed and confidence.”

The RareCyte team will be showcasing the Orion platform in its exhibit hall booth (#1823) at the upcoming American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting taking place April 17-22 in San Diego.

About RareCyte

RareCyte is advancing a new generation of high-precision platforms for clinical and translational research. The company’s spatial biology and liquid biopsy systems, consumables, and reagents deliver reliable, reproducible data to support biomarker development and enable precision biology at clinical scale. For more information, visit www.rarecyte.com.

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The expansion of the Orion platform and our growing reagent portfolio reflect RareCyte’s commitment to building technologies that advance biomarker-driven clinical research and drug development