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BioLegend
BioLegend
from Wikipedia

BioLegend is a global developer and manufacturer of antibodies and reagents used in biomedical research located in San Diego, California.[1] It was incorporated in June 2002 and has since expanded to include BioLegend Japan KK, where it is partnered with Tomy Digital Biology Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, BioLegend Europe in the United Kingdom, BioLegend GmbH in Germany, and BioLegend UK Ltd in the United Kingdom. In July 2021, BioLegend was acquired by PerkinElmer for $5.25 billion and now operates as Revvity.[2] BioLegend manufactures products in the areas of neuroscience, cell immunophenotyping, cytokines and chemokines, adhesion, cancer research, T regulatory cells, stem cells, innate immunity, cell-cycle analysis, apoptosis, and modification-specific antibodies. Reagents are created for use in flow cytometry, proteogenomics, ELISA, immunoprecipitation, Western blotting, immunofluorescence microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and in vitro or in vivo functional assays.[3]

Key Information

History

[edit]

BioLegend was founded by CEO, Gene Lay, D.V.M., who was also the co-founder of PharMingen. In 2011, BioLegend co-developed and introduced Brilliant Violet(TM)-conjugated antibodies, using a novel fluorophore based on Nobel Prize-winning chemistry developed by Sirigen.[4] In 2018, BioLegend introduced TotalSeq™ antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates for use in single cell proteogenomics analysis. BioLegend continued expansion and moved into a new 8-acre campus at BioLegend Way in 2019 with state of the art facilities designed to accommodate up to 1000 employees.

References

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from Grokipedia
BioLegend is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures high-quality antibodies, reagents, and tools for life science research, with a focus on immunology, cell biology, neuroscience, cancer research, and stem cell studies. Founded in June 2002 in San Diego, California, by Gene Lay, D.V.M.—who also co-founded the earlier immunology firm PharMingen—the company began by producing purified and fluorophore-conjugated monoclonal antibodies to address needs in flow cytometry and related applications. Its headquarters and primary manufacturing facility remain in San Diego, with additional research and development sites in Taiwan and Japan, supporting Revvity's global operations serving customers in over 190 countries. In September 2021, BioLegend was acquired by for $5.25 billion, becoming a key part of the company's life sciences portfolio; later rebranded to in 2023, integrating BioLegend into its broader mission of advancing health sciences from discovery to diagnostics and therapeutics. As of 2024, under , BioLegend employs approximately 665 people and continues to innovate through product licensing, collaborations, and in-house hybridoma development, while maintaining :2016 certification for . The company's product portfolio includes fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies for multiparameter , kits for ELISA and multiplex assays, proteins, peptides, and detection reagents, enabling breakthroughs in biomarker identification, imaging, and across academic, biotech, and pharmaceutical sectors. BioLegend emphasizes superior customer support, competitive pricing, and rapid innovation, such as its co-development of Brilliant Violet dyes in 2011, to accelerate scientific discovery.

Overview

Company Description

BioLegend is a biotechnology company specializing in the development and manufacture of high-quality antibodies and reagents for life science research, with a particular emphasis on immunology, cell biology, neuroscience, cancer research, and stem cell studies. Headquartered with primary manufacturing in its state-of-the-art facility in San Diego, California, and additional research and development sites in Taiwan and Japan, the company—now part of Revvity—produces cutting-edge tools essential for advancing scientific understanding in these fields and serves customers in over 190 countries. It employs approximately 665 people (as of 2024). The core mission of BioLegend is to accelerate biomedical leading to cures for disease by providing innovative, high-quality products that enable legendary discoveries from to application. As of 2025, its portfolio includes over 34,000 antibodies and reagents, offering researchers a comprehensive selection for experiments in , , and other techniques. BioLegend serves key target markets including academic institutions, pharmaceutical and R&D, and clinical applications such as development. To ensure reliability and reproducibility, its products are manufactured in an ISO 13485:2016-certified facility, adhering to stringent standards.

Ownership and Leadership

In September 2021, acquired BioLegend for approximately $5.25 billion in a combination of cash and stock, positioning the deal as a transformative expansion into the life sciences sector with a focus on antibodies and reagents. The acquisition integrated BioLegend into 's portfolio, enabling synergies in research tools and diagnostics while preserving its operational focus on reagents. In April 2023, PerkinElmer rebranded to Revvity to emphasize its dedication to health science solutions, with BioLegend maintained as a distinct brand and product line within Revvity's life sciences division. This structure allows BioLegend to operate semi-autonomously as of 2025, concentrating on research and development initiatives while accessing Revvity's broader resources in multi-omics and global distribution. BioLegend was founded in 2002 by Gene Lay, D.V.M., who has served as its President and CEO since 2003 and remains a key figure post-acquisition, guiding strategic direction. The executive team, including leaders such as Vice President of Human Resources Kim Clark and General Counsel Jim Schindler, upholds BioLegend's iACT culture, which promotes innovation, aspiration, collaboration, and transformation to drive employee empowerment and product advancement. Post-acquisition integration has fostered strategic synergies, with BioLegend expected, at the time of acquisition, to contribute approximately $380 million in annual revenue to (2021 estimate), supporting expansion into diagnostics and applications through combined expertise in reagents and health solutions. These efforts enhance 's portfolio by leveraging BioLegend's high-growth tools alongside the parent company's diagnostic platforms.

History

Founding and Early Development

BioLegend was founded in June 2002 in , , by Gene Lay, D.V.M., a co-founder of PharMingen, a pioneering antibody company specializing in immunological reagents that had been acquired by Becton Dickinson (now BD Biosciences) in 1997 for approximately $187 million (net of cash acquired). Lay, leveraging his experience from PharMingen's success in developing high-quality monoclonal , established BioLegend to continue advancing tools for biomedical research in a post-acquisition market landscape. The company started with a modest team and focused initially on filling unmet needs in the sector, where demand for reliable reagents was growing amid expanding research into immune responses and . From its inception, BioLegend's operations centered on manufacturing purified and fluorophore-conjugated monoclonal antibodies tailored for immunological applications, such as and cell analysis. This hands-on approach allowed the company to produce with consistent quality and specificity, targeting researchers in academic and biotech settings. The early prioritized affordability and accessibility to counter the higher pricing from established giants like BD Biosciences, enabling smaller labs to access advanced tools without compromising performance. By emphasizing customer collaboration and rapid product iteration, BioLegend positioned itself as a nimble alternative in a competitive field dominated by larger players. In its formative years, BioLegend overcame challenges including the intensified competition following PharMingen's acquisition, which consolidated among fewer entities, and secured initial private funding of about $262,500 to support operations and scaling. A key early achievement was developing an expanding catalog of over 100 immunology-focused antibodies by the mid-2000s, which built credibility through partnerships with academic laboratories conducting cutting-edge studies. This foundation enabled rapid growth, transforming BioLegend from a startup into a recognized provider of essential by 2005.

Key Milestones and Innovations

In 2011, BioLegend co-developed and launched the Brilliant Violet™ family of dyes in collaboration with Sirigen Group Ltd., introducing a polymer-based fluorescent that provided brighter signals and reduced spillover in multicolor applications. This innovation enabled researchers to expand panel complexity beyond traditional organic dyes, marking a significant advancement in immunological analysis. By 2014, BioLegend expanded its offerings through the acquisition of Covance Antibody Services Inc., integrating over 1,000 specialized products focused on and research. This move broadened the company's portfolio beyond its core, incorporating custom development capabilities and enhancing its position in broader biomedical applications. During the mid-2010s, BioLegend sustained its growth through continued sponsorships of major events, maintaining platinum status with the American Association of Immunologists annual meeting since 2008 and supporting conferences like IMMUNOLOGY 2010. Parallel to this, the company pursued facility expansions in , including renovations to existing spaces and planning for larger infrastructure to accommodate increasing demand. From 2017 to 2019, BioLegend released innovative tools such as LEAF™ purified antibodies, designed for low-endotoxin, azide-free applications in functional assays and in vivo studies. The company also expanded into cell separation technologies with the introduction of the MojoSort™ magnetic bead-based system, enabling efficient positive and negative selection of immune cell subsets from complex samples. In 2020, BioLegend opened its new state-of-the-art campus in , a multi-building facility emphasizing the iACT culture of innovate, aspire, collaborate, and transform to foster employee collaboration and research efficiency. That year, the company released the documentary "From Research to Cure," highlighting its mission to support scientific breakthroughs from to therapeutic applications. These developments contributed to BioLegend's portfolio expanding to thousands of reagents by 2020, solidifying its leadership in providing both custom and off-the-shelf antibodies and tools for immunological and related biomedical research.

Acquisition and Integration

On July 26, 2021, announced an agreement to acquire BioLegend for approximately $5.25 billion in a combination of cash and stock, highlighting synergies in life sciences tools and diagnostics to strengthen their combined offerings. The deal was driven by BioLegend's expertise in high-margin antibodies and , which complemented PerkinElmer's instrumentation and services, particularly in expanding capabilities for research and applications. The acquisition was completed on September 17, , marking PerkinElmer's largest transaction to date and expected to contribute about $380 million in revenue for BioLegend in fiscal 2022, along with an adjusted accretion of $0.30 in the first full year post-close. Integration efforts focused on preserving BioLegend's operational independence, with its headquarters designated as PerkinElmer's global for reagents, ensuring continuity in activities. The BioLegend brand was retained to maintain customer trust and market presence, while opportunities for emerged with PerkinElmer's established lines, such as Euroimmun diagnostics. In 2023, underwent a corporate restructuring, spinning off its applied, food, and enterprise services businesses and rebranding the remaining life sciences and diagnostics segment as , with positioned as a product line alongside ViaCord and Diagnostics. This transition emphasized 's focus on innovative solutions in health sciences, integrating 's portfolio without altering its core identity. Following the acquisition, BioLegend benefited from increased R&D resources and expanded global distribution through Revvity's sales infrastructure, fostering accelerated product development in high-growth areas like biologics while upholding operational autonomy and avoiding significant disruptions to its established workflows. These enhancements supported immediate revenue synergies, projected to reach $100 million annually by the fifth year, primarily through combined customer access and innovation pipelines. Under Revvity, BioLegend continued to innovate, including a November 2024 collaboration with Scale Biosciences to launch a solution for high-parameter protein profiling of single cells using TotalSeq™-A antibody panels, and the introduction of new StarBright Dye UV laser options in early 2025.

Products and Services

Core Antibody Portfolio

BioLegend's core antibody portfolio primarily consists of monoclonal antibodies designed for high specificity and reproducibility in immunological research. These antibodies are available in various formats, including purified forms for general use and conjugated variants labeled with fluorophores such as and to facilitate multicolor detection. They support key applications like for cell phenotyping, for tissue analysis, and for cytokine quantification. The portfolio encompasses an extensive collection of over 28,000 in-house validated monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, targeting a wide array of immune cell markers (such as CD45 for pan-leukocyte identification), cytokines (including IL-2 and TNF-α), and signaling molecules (like NF-κB pathway components). This breadth emphasizes rigorously tested clones to ensure experimental reproducibility, with validation data—including knockout/knockdown confirmation—provided in product catalogs and datasheets. For instance, antibodies against activation markers like CD69 and CD25 enable detailed studies of T-cell responses and immune modulation. Customization services allow researchers to request conjugate development, such as adding specific fluorophores or isotopes, and bulk production scaled to experimental needs, ensuring tailored solutions without compromising quality. Quality standards are maintained through options like the LEAF™ (Low Endotoxin, Azide-Free) series, which features endotoxin levels below 0.1 EU/μg and no preservatives, making them suitable for applications such as animal models of . The Ultra-LEAF™ variant further reduces endotoxins to under 0.01 EU/μg for highly sensitive functional assays. Originally centered on since BioLegend's founding in 2002, the portfolio has evolved to incorporate comprehensive coverage of pan-leukocyte and immune activation markers, reflecting advancements in understanding leukocyte diversity and functional states. This progression supports broader workflows in and has been enhanced by innovations like the 2011 launch of Brilliant Violet dyes for expanded panels.

Reagents and Kits

BioLegend offers a range of non-antibody and designed to support various stages of life science research, including , detection, and workflows. These products provide complete solutions with optimized buffers, standards, and detailed protocols to ensure and in experiments such as immune monitoring and cell characterization. Assay kits from BioLegend include ready-to-use ELISA formats and multiplex systems for and quantification. The LEGENDplex™ kits are bead-based immunoassays compatible with standard flow cytometers, featuring pre-coated fluorescent beads for simultaneous detection of multiple analytes, such as in panels that measure up to 13 with enhanced sensitivity and compared to traditional . These kits supply all necessary components, including capture beads, detection reagents, standards, and buffers, along with validated protocols for serum, plasma, or supernatants. Single-plex and multi-plex ELISA kits similarly provide pre-coated 96-well plates, standards, and buffers for streamlined workflows in detection and cell viability assessment. Cell viability assays, such as the Deep Blue Cell Viability™ Kit, utilize reduction to quantify proliferation in real-time, while Zombie™ fixable dyes (e.g., Zombie Aqua™ or Violet™) enable discrimination of live and dead cells in fixed samples via amine-reactive labeling of compromised membranes. Cell separation tools, particularly the MojoSort™ system, facilitate isolation of specific immune cell subsets using magnetic nanobead technology. These kits employ biotinylated selection cocktails combined with nanobeads for positive or negative selection, yielding untouched populations such as T cells (e.g., CD3+ or +), B cells, NK cells, monocytes, or stem cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells or lymphoid tissues. The process involves brief incubations (5-15 minutes) followed by on columns, supporting high-purity isolation without specialized equipment beyond standard magnets. MojoSort™ kits include all buffers and protocols for scalable applications in and bioprocessing. Ancillary reagents complement these workflows with optimized buffers, blockers, and fixatives tailored for , imaging, and intracellular staining. The Fixation Buffer, formulated with low-background , preserves cell morphology for intracellular (ICFC) and (ICC), paired with Permeabilization Wash Buffer for target access. Cell Staining Buffer and blocking reagents minimize non-specific binding, while FluoroFix™ Buffer stabilizes fluorescent signals in fixed samples, particularly for tandem dyes. For manufacturing, BioLegend's Cell-Vive™ GMP portfolio provides cGMP-compliant ancillary materials, including serum-free media supplements, recombinant proteins like , and reagents produced in ISO 13485-certified facilities to meet USP and Ph. Eur. standards. Following the 2014 acquisition of Covance Antibody Products, BioLegend expanded its offerings in and with additional reagents for studies and neuronal applications. This integration introduced GMP-grade components like recombinant for and matrix remodeling assays, enhancing support for high-throughput and research in these fields. These kits and reagents are widely used in academic and pharmaceutical settings for scalable screening, enabling precise analysis in immune-oncology, development, and .

Specialized Technologies

BioLegend has developed several proprietary technologies that advance , , and applications, enabling researchers to perform high-resolution studies of immune responses and cellular phenotypes. One of the cornerstone innovations is the Brilliant Violet™ family of dyes, introduced in 2011 as polymer-based tandem fluorochromes excited by violet lasers (typically 405 nm). These dyes exhibit exceptional brightness—up to 50-fold greater than conventional fluorophores like Pacific Blue—and superior photostability, allowing for the construction of multicolor panels exceeding 20 parameters in with reduced spillover and minimal compensation requirements due to their narrow emission spectra. This technology has become integral for dissecting complex immune cell subsets, as demonstrated in protocols optimized for violet-excitable instruments from partners like Cytek Biosciences and . Complementing these dyes, BioLegend's TotalSeq™ platform consists of oligonucleotide-conjugated antibodies designed for cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITE-seq), facilitating simultaneous detection of surface proteins and mRNA transcripts at the single-cell level. TotalSeq™ reagents, available in variants A, B, and C to match different capture chemistries (e.g., poly(dT) or feature barcoding with 10x Genomics workflows), integrate seamlessly into RNA-seq pipelines, providing high-sensitivity protein data with low background noise. This multiomics approach has proven essential for mapping tumor microenvironments and immune cell heterogeneity in cancer studies, where protein-level insights reveal functional states not captured by transcriptomics alone. Additional specialized tools include the True-Nuclear™ Transcription Factor Buffer Set, a fixation and permeabilization system optimized for intracellular staining of nuclear proteins like , while preserving surface marker integrity and stability. BioLegend employs CRISPR-based and knockdown models to confirm specificity and offers spatial reagents tailored for multiplexed tissue platforms such as MERFISH and NanoString GeoMx, supporting analysis of protein distributions in tumor tissues. The company's R&D emphasizes low-background, high-sensitivity innovations, including collaborations with instrument manufacturers like and Pleno for enhanced compatibility in single-cell and workflows. These technologies collectively empower intricate experiments in and , with detailed protocols available in peer-reviewed literature and BioLegend's resources, accelerating discoveries in modulation and personalized cancer therapies.

Operations

Manufacturing and Facilities

BioLegend's primary manufacturing facility is a state-of-the-art campus located in , , which opened in 2019 and spans advanced cleanrooms equipped with automation systems dedicated to antibody production. This $100 million investment includes laboratory spaces, renovated buildings, and integrated infrastructure designed to support high-volume reagent manufacturing. The company also maintains research and development sites in and . The company's production processes encompass in-house monoclonal antibody development, beginning with hybridoma generation and clone selection based on criteria such as growth robustness and antibody yield, followed by purification via and conjugation with fluorochromes or other labels under optimized conditions. These processes are scalable, enabling production from research-grade antibodies to GMP-compliant materials suitable for clinical applications, all conducted within a dedicated GMP facility. Quality assurance at BioLegend is governed by an :2016-certified management system, which ensures rigorous lot-specific testing for purity exceeding 95%, specificity through methods like , and functionality via assays such as and immunofluorescent staining. Traceability is maintained through detailed certificates of analysis provided for each lot, supporting reproducibility and compliance in biomedical research. The San Diego campus provides substantial capacity to meet global demand, with integrated R&D laboratories facilitating and process optimization alongside production. Post-2023 integration with , BioLegend's operations incorporate eco-friendly practices, including waste minimization and energy-efficient systems aligned with Revvity's sustainability goals of reducing Scope 1 and 2 by 50% by 2033.

Global Reach and Distribution

BioLegend maintains its headquarters in , , , with subsidiaries and direct operations in key international locations to support its global footprint. These include BioLegend Europe B.V. in , , which handles distribution across much of ; BioLegend in , , providing sales and technical support; BioLegend Japan K.K. in , ; and BioLegend (Beijing) Ltd. in , . Warehouses in , , and , , facilitate efficient logistics, enabling direct sales and distribution in over 50 countries through a network of authorized distributors. The company's distribution model emphasizes accessibility via its platform at biolegend.com, where customers worldwide can place orders, with regional websites supporting multiple languages such as English, German, Japanese, and Chinese. Partnerships with major laboratory suppliers like and VWR enhance availability, allowing seamless integration into global supply chains for academic, pharmaceutical, and (CRO) customers. In , compliance with regulations such as REACH is ensured through its local subsidiaries, while distributors like Biomedica and Nordic Biosite cover specific markets, and in Asia, partners such as Biogene India and Genomax Technologies serve regions including and . This structure supports thousands of laboratories annually across sectors like academia, biotech, and pharma. Customer engagement extends through active participation in international conferences, including sponsorships and travel awards for events like CYTO 2025 and SITC 2025, where BioLegend offers workshops, poster sessions, and product promotions to foster direct interaction with researchers. Literature resources, such as multilingual catalogs and webinars on applications like , are available via the company website to aid global users. Following its 2021 acquisition by (formerly ), BioLegend has leveraged the parent company's extensive network to accelerate delivery times and provide localized , enhancing penetration in emerging biotech hubs in and .

References

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