ZOMP

ZOMP is a deep-tech company spun out of the University of Queensland in 2022 by Dr. Antony Orth and Dr. Chris Florian. The venture is commercializing a new form of spatial cytometry technology, building upon a decade of research and development originating from the university's labs. Dr. Orth, the CEO, brings a background in physics and biophotonics, having focused his academic and post-doctoral work on advanced microscopy techniques and their application in biomedical research, a foundation that directly informs ZOMP's core technology. Dr. Florian, the CTO, has a research history centered on developing novel optical imaging methods and light-sheet microscopy, expertise that is central to the company's product development.

The company operates in the life sciences and diagnostics market, specifically targeting researchers and clinicians in fields like immunology, oncology, and drug discovery who require high-throughput single-cell analysis. ZOMP's core business revolves around its proprietary platform, ZOMP-3D, a spatial flow cytometer. This instrument is designed to overcome the limitations of conventional flow cytometry by providing 3D sub-cellular resolution imaging of individual cells in flow. The system captures detailed morphological data and spatial information from multiple fluorescence and label-free channels at a rate of thousands of cells per second. This capability allows for more comprehensive cell profiling, enabling the identification of rare cell populations, the analysis of cell-to-cell interactions, and the observation of drug uptake with high precision. The business model is likely based on the sale of these high-value analytical instruments and potentially recurring revenue from associated consumables and software.

The key differentiator of the ZOMP-3D platform is its ability to combine the high-speed analysis of flow cytometry with the detailed imaging of microscopy. Unlike traditional methods that provide limited morphological data, ZOMP's technology generates rich, 3D spatial information for each cell, effectively creating a detailed picture alongside the count. This allows researchers to ask more complex questions, such as where a specific protein is located within a cell, rather than just its level of expression. The technology is also label-free, meaning it can derive insights from the intrinsic properties of the cells themselves, reducing the need for fluorescent markers in some applications.

Keywords: spatial cytometry, flow cytometry, cell analysis, 3D imaging, biophotonics, life sciences, single-cell analysis, microscopy, diagnostics, immunology research