Somewhere in the long effort to see life as it truly is, researchers have long been limited by thin slices, flattening the living architecture of tissue into two dimensions. On December 11, 2025, Bio-Techne's spatial biology unit Lunaphore and the Geneva-based Wyss Center joined to build an automated way to read RNA and proteins together inside intact three-dimensional samples. Their stated hope is that seeing cells in their full spatial context may speed drug discovery and reduce the need for animal models, though those promises remain to be proven.
Bio-Techne and Wyss Geneva Partner to Automate 3D Multiomics for Spatial Biology Research
Spatial biology moves from flat slices toward intact 3D tissue
Mark
What is actually being built here?
Mimi
An automated workflow that detects RNA and proteins together in intact 3D tissue samples. Bio-Techne's Lunaphore brand and Wyss Geneva are doing it jointly.
Mark
Why does 3D matter if 2D already works?
Mimi
The announcement says 2D delivers strong insight now, but 3D lets researchers see tissue structure and cell interactions more fully, using thicker sections.
Luke
Is that a finding or a pitch?
Mimi
It's the stated aim. Nothing in the announcement shows data from the 3D workflow yet.
Mark
What about the animal testing angle?
Mimi
They say it could reduce reliance on animal models by advancing organoid research and AI-driven predictive modeling.
Luke
Could, is doing the work there. No study or number backs it, and it's the companies' own framing.
Mark
Why would a neuroengineering center be involved?
Mimi
Wyss Geneva works across AI, bioengineering, and neuroengineering, and Bio-Techne credits it with leadership in 3D translational research.
Luke
Also unknown: financial terms, timeline, and whether a product results. Those are not in the release.
Mark
So what should a reader watch?
Mimi
Published results and any commercial launch.
Il Polso
- Two-dimensional spatial methods have reached their limits, and researchers are pressing to see tissue in full three-dimensional depth.
- Manual analysis of thick tissue is slow and constraining, and the partners aim to replace it with an automated multiomic workflow.
- Bio-Techne's Lunaphore and Wyss Geneva are combining detection expertise with translational research to make 3D analysis practical.
- The collaboration has no announced timeline, financial terms, or products yet, so its benefits for drug discovery and animal-model reduction are still untested.
Somewhere in the long effort to see life as it truly is, researchers have long been limited by thin slices, flattening the living architecture of tissue into two dimensions. On December 11, 2025, Bio-Techne's spatial biology unit Lunaphore and the Geneva-based Wyss Center joined to build an automated way to read RNA and proteins together inside intact three-dimensional samples. Their stated hope is that seeing cells in their full spatial context may speed drug discovery and reduce the need for animal models, though those promises remain to be proven.
On December 11, 2025, Bio-Techne Corporation, the Minneapolis life science tools company traded on NASDAQ as TECH, announced a partnership between its spatial biology brand Lunaphore and the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva. The shared goal is an automated workflow that detects RNA and proteins at the same time in three-dimensional tissue specimens.
Bio-Techne says its current multiomic spatial tools already reveal detailed insight in two dimensions. The Wyss work aims to carry that capability into 3D, where tissue structure and the interactions between cells can be studied more completely. The companies present this as a answer to the limits of manual methods, which often cannot capture the complexity of living systems.
The announcement also makes a research-ethics case. It suggests the technology could reduce reliance on animal models by advancing organoid research and AI-driven predictive modeling, known as New Approach Methodologies. These are presented as possible benefits rather than demonstrated results.
Dr. Stéphane Pages, Director of Neuroimaging at Wyss Geneva, said that full impact depends on making 3D multiomics accessible to every researcher, and called the partnership an extraordinary opportunity. Matt McManus, President of Bio-Techne's Diagnostics and Spatial Biology Segment, said the collaboration joins RNA and protein detection expertise with Wyss Geneva's 3D translational leadership.
The partners bring different strengths. Bio-Techne reported more than $1.2 billion in fiscal 2025 net sales and employs about 3,100 people. Wyss Geneva is an independent, not-for-profit neuro venture builder founded in 2014 with support from Hansjörg Wyss, combining AI, bioengineering, and neuroengineering. The announcement gives no timeline, financial terms, or product details, so the claims about faster discovery and wider adoption await published results and any commercial launch.
On December 11, 2025, Bio-Techne Corporation, the Minneapolis-based life science tools company traded on NASDAQ as TECH, announced a collaboration between its spatial biology brand Lunaphore and the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva, known as Wyss Geneva. The goal is an automated workflow that detects RNA and proteins at the same time in three-dimensional tissue specimens.
The project is meant to allow high-resolution multiomic analysis inside intact 3D samples. Bio-Techne says its current multiomic spatial biology technologies already deliver detailed insight in two dimensions, and that the Wyss work aims to carry those capabilities into 3D, where tissue structure and interactions between cells can be studied more fully.
The announcement frames the effort as a response to the limits of traditional, manual approaches, which it says often restrict how well researchers can capture the complexity of biological systems. The plan is to automate multiomic analysis in thicker tissue sections, which the companies say could speed drug discovery and improve diagnostic development.
There is also a research-ethics argument. The announcement says the technology could reduce dependence on animal models by advancing organoid research and broader AI-driven predictive modeling, part of what are known as New Approach Methodologies, or NAMs. These are presented as potential benefits, not demonstrated results.
Dr. Stéphane Pages, Director of Neuroimaging at Wyss Geneva, said 3D multiomics will greatly enhance spatial insight in the future, but that its full impact depends on making it accessible to every researcher everywhere. He called the partnership with Bio-Techne an extraordinary opportunity to turn that ambition into reality.
Matt McManus, President of Bio-Techne's Diagnostics and Spatial Biology Segment, said the collaboration combines the company's expertise in RNA and protein detection with Wyss Geneva's leadership in 3D translational research. He said this enables new possibilities in preclinical modeling and speeds the path from discovery to impact.
The two partners come from different places. Bio-Techne supplies tools and reagents to research and clinical diagnostic communities, reported more than $1.2 billion in net sales in fiscal 2025, and employs about 3,100 people worldwide. Wyss Geneva is an independent, not-for-profit neuro venture builder at Campus Biotech in Geneva, founded in 2014 with support from Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss. It combines AI, bioengineering, and neuroengineering to develop technologies for restoring neural functions and advancing precision therapies for brain and mental health disorders.
Bio-Techne casts the deal as part of a wider strategy to make spatial biology technologies more accessible and to lower technical barriers. The announcement gives no timeline, financial terms, or product details. The claims about faster drug discovery and wider adoption are still untested, so the things to watch are published results and any commercial launch that comes out of the work.
Citazioni salienti
3D multiomics must be made accessible to every researcher, everywhere, to unlock its full impact.— Dr. Stéphane Pages, Director of Neuroimaging, Wyss Geneva
The collaboration combines RNA and protein detection expertise with Wyss Geneva's 3D translational research leadership.— Matt McManus, President, Diagnostics and Spatial Biology Segment, Bio-Techne
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