Latest Lab Talk news in brief: contracts, acquisitions, fundraising, appointments, R&D

IRUS (In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service) will explore how to upgrade, repair and extend the life of satellites already in orbit, replacing degraded components like batteries, solar panels and onboard computers without bringing them back to Earth.

…………………………………..

Global metrology services firm Trescal said its 14 acquisitions in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas represents more than €50 million additional sales and expands its workforce by a further 800 employees.

Purchases include a Portuguese legal metrology specialist, a French 3D measurement services firm and, in Spain, expanded qualification offerings for life science sector and calibration services for the aeronautics industry. In the United Kingdom, it acquired four laboratories propelled Trescal to the market leader in the region.

Additionally, purchase of a domestic calibration laboratory with locations in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, made India the 34th country in which Trescal has a presence.

…………………………………..

 Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies provider for drug discovery and disease research Axol Bioscience has secured US$2.8 million (£2.1 million) in funding. The investment led by US life sciences specialist BroadOak Capital Partners, with the company’s founding investor, the Roslin Foundation.

Investment will accelerate expansion of Axol’s US operations and aid development of enhanced neuroscience, ophthalmology, and cardiovascular disease models, and cell manufacturing scale-up at its Roslin Innovation Centre.

…………………………………..

SUSA project, co-ordinated by Minna Isomursu of Finland’s University of Oulu, is leading an educational initiative to close digital skills gaps across the European healthcare sector.

It includes 21 leading partners – 12 universities, five SMEs, a hospital, a research centrer, and two networking organisations. Theproject will deliver 20 bachelor’s and 26 master’s programs, complemented by 16 lifelong learning modules.

This scheme will span nine countries with the aim of graduating 6558 students and upskilling 660 professionals with advanced digital health competencies. Built on 20 shared learning objectives, the SUSA model promotes collaborative, data-driven education and supports the European Green Deal’s vision for a healthier society.

…………………………………..

PacBio is partnering with UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s hospital to investigate genetic causes of sudden unexplained death in childhood missed by conventional testing. They will use long-read sequencing to analyse 200 SUDC parent-child trios through a single postmortem assay.

PacBio is collaborating also with the n-Lorem Foundation and EspeRare to apply long-read whole-genome sequencing to personalised therapies, intended to accelerate treatment development for patients with ultra-rare genetic diseases.

…………………………………..

Sartorius is expanding its bio-based product portfolio to support more sustainable biopharma manufacturing. ISCC Plus certification has extended to its sites in Göttingen, Germany, and M’Hamdia, Tunisia, allowing use of certified renewable raw materials in additional product lines, reducing the share of fossil-based plastics while ensuring full compatibility with existing bioprocesses.

The ISCC Plus global standard for renewable and recycled raw materials is designed to ensure transparent and traceable sourcing and compliance across value chains.

in 2025, Sartorius achieved ISCC Plus certification for its sites in Aubagne, France, and Stonehouse, United Kingdom, covering its Ambr bioreactor vessels, Vivaflow filters, and selected Flexsafe bags for the manufacture of biopharmaceutical.

…………………………………..

Expert in safeguarding scientific research and consumer product sample assets, Astoriom has appointed Will Edwards as chief executive officer. The former Spectrum Storage Group CEO will support Astoriom growth across its international portfolio of sample stability storage, biorepository services, validation solutions, as well as sample storage design and disaster recovery. He succeeds Lori A. Ball, who takes a board seat.

…………………………………..

Biotech Nuclera has declared a US$12 million financing extension, bringing its total Series C funding to US$87 million. Led by Elevage Medical Technologies and Jonathan Milner, it included existing investors British Business Bank and GK Goh. The investment is intended to accelerate the integration of antibody expression and binding validation capabilities into the firm’s eProtein Discovery benchtop system.

…………………………………..

BWB Technologies, the Newbury based manufacturing flame photometry instrumentation firm has become a Certified B Corporation. Certification, awarded by the non-profit B Lab, recognises companies that meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

…………………………………..

Pic (clockwise top left): Astroscale, BWB Technologies, Minna Corinna/SUSA