Supplier spotlight: Fluidigm
5
Min Read
In this blog:
- What can CiteAb data tell us about Fluidigm’s growth over the past 5 years?
- Where are Fluidigm’s products most used, and in which research area?
- How are they performing in the research antibody market?
Today, we are focusing on Fluidigm, a supplier of instruments, antibodies and kits.
In recent years, we have observed considerable growth for Fluidigm in our citation data, leading us to analyse CiteAb data on this supplier further.
Through this analysis, we uncovered interesting insights into Fluidigm’s antibody share, country split and research area focus, which we share with you in this blog.
Who are Fluidigm? (Nasdaq: FLDM)
Fluidigm have been operating for over 20 years, gradually growing to become a global organisation with customers in over 35 countries.
As a company, they provide multi-omic solutions for the study of cancer, inflammatory diseases and immunotherapies. Their ultimate mission is to improve quality of life by helping scientists in their research.
Through their proprietary cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF) and microfluidics technologies, they are able to support research into multiple areas.
An overview of their key technologies
Fluidigm CyTOF single-cell proteomics technology is an application of mass cytometry which utilises heavy metal tags on antibodies and reagents instead of fluorochrome-conjugates. The technology is used in applications such as cell profiling and sample barcoding.
By using metal tags, cells can be sorted by mass rather than wavelength. As a result of this important distinction, this method has greater multiplexing potential. Metal tags give distinct signals, less variable signal intensity and no autofluorescence. In fact, Fluidigm estimates that over 50 markers can be measured simultaneously per tube of cell sample (compared to fluorochrome methods which can handle around 30 parameters).
Their microfluidics technologies are based on integrated fluidic circuits, and have multiple applications. Recently, Fluidigm secured a $250 million investment to grow their microfluidics technology (and much more). [1]
CiteAb data insights into Fluidigm success
Antibodies are supplied by Fluidigm for a variety of uses and against a range of targets. In particular, metal conjugated antibodies for use in CyTOF comprise a key part of their antibody range. By gathering insights into the success of Fluidigm’s antibodies we can understand more about their instrument use. In the CiteAb search, we currently list hundreds of Fluidigm’s antibodies.
Their antibody citation share has risen massively over the past 5 years, increasing from 0.02% in 2016 to 0.16% in 2021. Although this may seem small compared to some of the big players in this market, this corresponds to a rocketing rank for Fluidigm: from a position outside the top 100 suppliers in 2015 to 33rd in 2021.
It is important to note that these citations relate to increasing use of their high value instrumentation, differentiating them from many ‘standalone’ research antibody citations.
Country and research area citation split
CiteAb data allows us to look a little closer into different areas of antibody markets. For this analysis, we looked at citations by country and by research area.
We found that from the 14 countries who have cited Fluidigm products, over two thirds of the citations are from the United States. The United Kingdom, China and Germany are the other major contributors. Interestingly, if we compare this to the antibody market as a whole, we find Fluidigm is much more US and UK focused than other suppliers, with a smaller share in China. Given their success in home markets, there seems to be an opportunity for great global expansion into markets other antibody suppliers have seen much success in.
In terms of research area, approximately three quarters of antibody citations for Fluidigm are in Immunology and Cancer research papers, appropriately reflecting their research areas of focus.
There have been many interesting research publications using Fluidigm products in varying ways. A couple of examples include a study investigating the links between cancer and increased COVID-19 mortality rates by examining immunological parameters, and a paper looking at vaccine reactions by using mass cytometry to investigate blood clotting after vaccination. [2,3]
It will be interesting to see if they expand their citation share beyond their current areas of research focuses.
The future for Fluidigm
We are excited to see how Fluidigm grows moving forward. Their ‘Vision 2025: Innovation’ plan is ambitious. It includes plans to increase the number of conjugates and panels they offer in their assays and to release a new tissue imager. [4]
We will be following to see if they continue on their current growth trajectory and whether they continue to see increased use of their proprietary application and instrument. Will their innovation drive support this growth?
If you’d like to learn more about how Fluidigm sits within the wider antibody market, and how other suppliers are performing do get in touch to discuss our data further!
- Rhys and the CiteAb team
References:
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-021-04299-y
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34388849/
[4] https://investors.fluidigm.com/static-files/05e4a748-9d5d-41c0-b06f-5f0ab6328add
Read more about fluidigm:
https://www.fluidigm.com/about/our-story
