
Zephyrus Biosciences
Zephyrus Biosciences | Tools For ScWestern Protein Analysis.
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- | investor investor investor investor investor | €0.0 | round |
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Total Funding | 000k |
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Zephyrus Biosciences was positioned as a specialized developer of research tools to enable protein analysis at the single-cell level. The firm was founded in 2013, originating from the bioengineering laboratory of Dr. Amy Herr at the University of California, Berkeley. Co-founded by Dr. Herr and Kelly Gardner, who was a bioengineering PhD student in Herr's lab, the company's foundation is directly tied to their academic research. Gardner, who served as CEO, conceived the core technology while at Berkeley, driven by the need to measure proteins, the functional molecules of cells, which cannot be amplified like DNA. Dr. Herr, a professor of bioengineering with degrees from Caltech and Stanford, brought extensive expertise in bioinstrumentation and single-cell analyses to the venture.
The company's business focused on the burgeoning single-cell analysis market, serving researchers in fields such as oncology, stem cell biology, and neurology. Zephyrus developed and commercialized a proprietary system that, for the first time, allowed for western blotting—a foundational technique for protein identification—to be performed on thousands of individual cells concurrently. This technology, known as the scWestern (single-cell Western) system, addressed a critical limitation in research by enabling the study of cell-to-cell variation within a seemingly homogeneous population, which is crucial for understanding disease progression and drug efficacy. Its first commercial product was the Z1™ System, later known as Milo, a benchtop instrument that automated this process. Revenue was generated through the sale of these instruments and associated consumables to academic, pharmaceutical, and biotech research laboratories.
A significant milestone was the acquisition of Zephyrus Biosciences by Bio-Techne Corporation in March 2016 for an undisclosed sum, approximately three years after its inception. The acquisition integrated Zephyrus into Bio-Techne's Protein Platforms Division, placing the scWestern technology alongside Bio-Techne's existing Simple Western™ platforms. This strategic move provided Zephyrus's technology with the commercial reach of a global life sciences company, while allowing Bio-Techne to expand its portfolio to include heterogeneous single-cell analysis. Following the acquisition, the co-founding team, including Dr. Gardner, remained with the company to support the technology's continued commercialization. Keywords: Zephyrus Biosciences, single-cell protein analysis, single-cell western blotting, scWestern, Z1 System, Milo, Amy Herr, Kelly Gardner, Bio-Techne acquisition, protein analysis tools, cell heterogeneity, UC Berkeley spinout, proteomics, bioinstrumentation, cancer research tools, stem cell analysis, neurology research, life science tools, QB3, StartX Med