Lunaphore

What Lunaphore does

Lunaphore Technologies S.A., founded in 2014 as a spin-off from EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, develops and commercializes a fully automated spatial biology platform centered on the COMET instrument. COMET applies the company's proprietary sequential immunofluorescence (seqIF) technology to enable hyperplex protein detection — up to 40 markers per automated run — using off-the-shelf, non-conjugated primary antibodies, eliminating the need for custom antibody conjugation. Through Bio-Techne's ACD subsidiary integration, the platform now supports same-section RNA + protein multiomics via RNAscope HiPlex Pro, a capability commercially launched in January 2024 as the first fully automated same-slide spatial multiomics solution. The software layer is delivered through HORIZON, an AI-powered image analysis tool providing cell segmentation, tissue phenotyping, and spatial neighbourhood analytics, complemented by integrations with Visiopharm and Nucleai.

The company monetizes through a hardware-plus-consumables model: capital equipment sales of the COMET instrument paired with recurring revenue from SPYRE antibody panels, detection reagents, amplification kits, and secondary antibodies, supplemented by HORIZON software licensing and professional services including installation, training, and the Access Lab evaluation program. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales — primarily targeting academic research institutions, biotech, and biopharma — with channel partnerships through CROs (Sirona Dx, Discovery Life Sciences) and instrument distribution (Nikon). The customer base spans leading cancer centers including MD Anderson, Fox Chase Cancer Center, the University of Birmingham, and Samsung Medical Center, alongside unnamed biotech and biopharma clients.

Lunaphore was acquired by Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) in June 2023 and now operates as part of the Bio-Techne Spatial division alongside Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD). Prior to acquisition, the company raised approximately CHF 58 million across multiple rounds culminating in a CHF 40 million Series D first close led by EGS Beteiligungen AG in March 2023. Headcount is reported at 11–50 employees with headquarters in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, and a US entity in Minneapolis operating within Bio-Techne's broader organizational footprint. ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certifications support regulated and clinical research use cases.

Name

Lunaphore

Legal name

Lunaphore Technologies S.A.

Website

https://lunaphore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lunaphore, a Bio-Techne Spatial brand, provides the COMET automated spatial biology instrument using proprietary seqIF technology for hyperplex protein and RNA+protein multiomics analysis, serving academic research institutions, biotech, biopharma, and CROs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Spatial Biology Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

High-Throughput Screening & Assay Platforms (HTS/HCS, phenotypic screening) (HLAAAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

AI Orchestration & Imaging Analytics Platforms (Model Management/Triage) (HLACALAG)

Keywords

• Spatial biology platforms
• Multiplex immunofluorescence instruments
• Tissue analysis reagents
• Spatial multiomics solutions
• Hyperplex tissue imaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Instrument Sales: Sale of COMET spatial biology instruments to research institutions and pharma companies. The platform is a capital equipment purchase with associated installation and training services.
2. Consumables and Reagents: Recurring revenue from SPYRE antibody panels, detection reagents, amplification kits, and secondary antibodies. Consumables consumed per run drive recurring revenue stream.
3. Software Licensing: HORIZON image analysis software provided under license agreement with software terms governing use.
4. Professional Services: Installation, training, maintenance, repair services, scientific lab services, and instrument access lab services provided to customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lunaphore develops and manufactures the COMET, a fully automated spatial biology instrument that performs hyperplex immunofluorescence (up to 40 markers per run) and same-section RNA+protein multiomics on tissue samples. The platform is complemented by HORIZON AI-powered image analysis software, SPYRE antibody panels, amplification kits, and detection reagents, enabling proteomic and transcriptomic spatial profiling for research and translational applications.

Product overview

Lunaphore, a Bio-Techne brand, offers a comprehensive spatial biology platform centered on the COMET™ instrument as the core product, paired with HORIZON™ image analysis software for data interpretation. The portfolio includes SPYRE™ Antibody Panels and Detection Reagents for assay development, along with enabling technologies like seqIF™ (sequential immunofluorescence) and RNAscope™ HiPlex Pro for multiomics workflows. The COMET platform enables fully automated spatial biology from assay development to cohort analysis, supporting both proteomics (up to 40+ markers) and multiomics (RNA + protein co-detection) applications, while HORIZON provides AI-powered image analysis capabilities. The company operates as part of Bio-Techne Spatial, combining with Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD) to deliver integrated spatial multiomics solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COMET™: Fully automated spatial biology platform for hyperplex immunofluorescence and multiomics analysis
• HORIZON™
• SPYRE™ Antibody Panels
• seqIF™
• RNAscope™ HiPlex Pro

Products and services

• COMET Fully automated spatial biology instrument platform for hyperplex immunofluorescence staining and imaging. Supports sequential immunofluorescence (seqIF) and multiomics workflows with simultaneous RNA and protein detection on the same tissue section. Targets academic, biotech, biopharma, and CRO customers conducting spatial proteomic and transcriptomic profiling.
• HORIZON Image analysis software for COMET hyperplex immunofluorescence images. Provides AI-powered cell segmentation, tissue phenotyping, and spatial neighbourhood analytics with guided interface and batch processing capabilities for COMET users.
• SPYRE Antibody Panels Ready-to-use, lot-to-lot validated antibody panels for reliable, high-throughput spatial profiling on COMET. Includes SPYRE Panel Builder for custom panel design by researchers.
• SPYRE Amplification Kit Amplification kit for enhancing signal detection in spatial biology assays run on the COMET platform.
• Detection Reagents Reagents for detection of targets in multiplex immunofluorescence assays on the COMET platform, including secondary antibodies conjugated to Alexa Fluor Plus for high-sensitivity detection.
• Access Lab Instrument evaluation and sample processing services for researchers to experience COMET platform capabilities before purchase, including scientific lab services for assay development and optimization.
• Scientific Lab Services Scientific consulting laboratory services providing access to Lunaphore's scientific team for assay development and optimization support, alongside installation, training, maintenance, and repair services for the COMET platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 40 different spatial markers analyzed per automated run
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and flagship.

• Wyss Center GenevacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Bio-Techne's Lunaphore brand partnered with the Wyss Center Geneva to develop an automated workflow for 3D multiomics technology to accelerate spatial biology research. The partnership focuses on advancing automated 3D multiomics capabilities.
• NucleaisupportingTechnology or Integration · 4 November 2025AI-powered spatial biology workflow partnership enabling predictive biomarker discovery in melanoma patients. Combines Lunaphore's COMET with Nucleai's AI analysis capabilities.
• Discovery Life SciencessupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 26 September 2024Partnership to bring innovative spatial biology solutions to clinical research. Discovery Life Sciences offers COMET platform access for clinical research customers.
• Nikon Instruments Inc.supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 28 March 2024Partnership to expand access to innovative spatial biology services. Nikon provides distribution and service capabilities for COMET platform in certain markets.
• Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2023Lunaphore and SIB awarded Innosuisse funding to develop innovative AI-based assay development tools. Collaboration focuses on machine learning for spatial biology assay optimization.
• Bio-Techne CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2023Bio-Techne acquired Lunaphore in June 2023, making it a Bio-Techne brand. Bio-Techne is a global life sciences company (NASDAQ: TECH) providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents. Bio-Techne generated over $1.1 billion in net sales in fiscal 2023 with approximately 3,100 employees worldwide.
• Cell Signaling Technology (CST)coreTechnology or Integration · 7 June 2023Partnership enables use of over 1,700 IHC-validated antibodies from CST on the COMET platform. CST is a trusted provider of rigorously validated antibodies with eight of the 12 most-cited antibodies on CiteAb.
• Bethyl LaboratoriessupportingTechnology or Integration · 10 May 2023Partnership to leverage Bethyl's library of primary antibodies on COMET platform and expand spatial biology services. Bethyl provides validated antibodies for research applications.
• Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2023Bio-Techne strategic partnership to develop the first fully automated same-slide spatial multiomics solution. Combined ACD's RNAscope HiPlex Pro RNA detection with Lunaphore's seqIF technology on COMET platform. Launched January 2024.
• abcamsupportingTechnology or Integration · 6 April 2023Agreement for primary antibody validation for use on COMET platform. Combines abcam's trusted antibody provider capabilities with COMET's multiplex spatial biology capabilities.
• Sirona DxcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 February 2023Strategic collaboration making Sirona Dx the first US-based CRO to offer Lunaphore's COMET platform as a service. Addresses demand from US-based biotech and biopharma companies. Sirona Dx provides CLIA certification and pharmaceutical regulatory expertise.
• VisiopharmsupportingTechnology or IntegrationAI-powered image analysis partnership. Visiopharm's software integrates with COMET for advanced tissue analysis and cell segmentation in tumor microenvironment research.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Indica Labs: Indica Labs provides digital pathology and image analysis software (Halo platform) used alongside spatial biology workflows including COMET. It is an adjacent ecosystem player in tissue image analysis.
• abcam: Abcam is a major primary antibody provider with content validated for COMET through a partnership. It is an adjacent content/reagent provider that expands the assay menu accessible to COMET users.
• Bio-Techne Corporation: Bio-Techne is Lunaphore's parent company following the June 2023 acquisition and a leading life sciences tools provider with $1.1B+ in net sales. While not a peer in the competitive sense, Bio-Techne's spatial biology strategy (integrating Lunaphore with ACD's RNAscope) shapes competitive dynamics across the category.
• Cell Signaling Technology (CST): CST is a leading antibody provider whose 1,700+ IHC-validated antibodies are validated for use on COMET through a content partnership. As both a partner and adjacent content provider, CST shapes the breadth of assays accessible on Lunaphore's platform.
• Visiopharm: Visiopharm provides AI-powered image analysis software that integrates with COMET for tumor microenvironment analysis (Phenoplex workflow). It is a software partner and adjacent ecosystem player in the spatial biology analysis layer.

Direct peers

• 10x Genomics: 10x Genomics is the leading spatial biology platform company, offering Visium (transcriptomics) and Xenium (in situ) products. It directly competes with Lunaphore's COMET for spatial biology budget in academic and pharma labs, with a broader product portfolio spanning single-cell and spatial.
• NanoString Technologies (now Bruker Spatial Biology): NanoString's GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler and CosMx Single Molecular Imager are direct spatial multiomics competitors to COMET. Both target similar translational research and biomarker discovery use cases in immuno-oncology and tumor microenvironment analysis.
• Akoya Biosciences: Akoya offers the PhenoCycler (formerly CODEX) platform and Opal multiplex immunofluorescence reagents for spatial phenotyping. It competes with Lunaphore in the multiplex immunofluorescence space, particularly for high-plex tissue imaging in immuno-oncology research.
• Standard BioTools (formerly Fluidigm): Standard BioTools offers Hyperion imaging mass cytometry for highly multiplexed spatial tissue analysis. It competes with COMET in the high-plex spatial biology market, with particular strength in single-cell resolution tissue profiling.

Emerging players

• Quanterix: Quanterix is a high-sensitivity protein detection platform company that acquired Akoya Biosciences in 2024, consolidating its position in spatial biology. It competes in adjacent ultra-sensitive proteomics and biomarker discovery markets relevant to pharma customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lunaphore
• Xx.com/lunaphore
• Facebookfacebook.com/lunaphore

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds16 records

Investors15 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lunaphore