Fluidigm Debuts Newest State-of-the-Art Single-Cell System at AGBT

Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM) will provide attendees at the 16th annual Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) meeting the first glimpse of PolarisTM, an integrated single-cell research system, in addition to other new products. This exciting new product is the first to integrate cell selection, isolation, dose, culture and molecular preparation into a single workflow, thereby enabling researchers to directly correlate gene expression with environmental conditions and phenotypic information.

With this new workflow, researchers will be able to conduct dose-response and time course studies on live, single cells to identify interesting genes that regulate critical pathways, as well as better evaluate the diversity of biological effects across cell types.

Fluidigm is planning shipments of the Polaris system mid-year.

Previous functional studies typically relied on bulk cell analysis in cell culture dishes to replicate and manipulate environmental conditions to understand how these biological systems operate and which pathways were involved. Recent single-cell studies have demonstrated that bulk analysis obscures the variability between cells. By integrating target cell selection, control of the cell’s biological conditions, and immediate analysis of the cell’s genomic response, researchers using Polaris will be able to rapidly and accurately correlate genotype and phenotype, allowing them to identify functionally important cell sub-populations, explore critical cellular processes, discover novel biomarkers and identify more effective therapeutic targets.

“Fluidigm is committed to driving the evolution of single-cell biology and remaining the leader in providing tools that enable scientists to conduct groundbreaking discovery. With Polaris, we add a new capability to our portfolio that will allow researchers to explore the complex biology that governs cell fate and function,” said Gajus Worthington, Fluidigm President and Chief Executive Officer. “Polaris creates an entirely new field of research in which researchers can isolate single cells, control their biological niche and apply genomics to understand the regulatory effects of the cell’s environment,” Worthington added.

“Using Polaris, researchers will have the experimental capabilities to conduct advanced exploration of cellular dynamics, such as the processes involved in cell differentiation, immune response, neurogenesis and cancer development. The Polaris system will enable more experimental control and multi-parametric analysis at the single-cell level than has ever before been possible,” said Marc Unger, Fluidigm’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development.

The Polaris system will consist of new instrumentation and a new class of Fluidigm integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs), which allow reagent dosing and cell culture experiments at the single-cell level. These new IFCs will include the processing of single cells for downstream molecular biology preparatory and analysis techniques. Data generated by the Polaris system will be processed using Fluidigm's Singular™ Analysis Toolset, which includes features to filter, visualize and identify biologically relevant genes and variants.

The Polaris system joins Fluidigm’s strong stable of single-cell biology products. The C1TM system and BiomarkTM HD system support genome-wide and targeted genomic applications to survey heterogeneity, such as population structure, lineage and clonality. The CyTOF® 2 mass cytometer enables single-cell proteomics, such as targeted protein expression and immunophenotype analysis.

Fluidigm at AGBT 2015

Marc Unger, Fluidigm’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development, will describe our innovative single-cell products in greater technical detail on Friday, February 27 at our Sponsor Workshop, “Revolutionizing our view of the genome and transcriptome through innovative sequencing workflows.”

Scientific Poster: Single-cell protein expression is the next emerging application on the C1 system. Ilona Holcomb, PhD, will present her poster, Unlocking Protein Expression in Single Cells Using the Fluidigm C1 System.

Fluidigm will also showcase how its new single-cell biology and production genomics platforms can come together to create the ideal lab.

• Polaris- Researchers will learn how to unravel cellular function by integrating single-cell selection, dose response and time course with quantitative gene expression using Fluidigm’s revolutionary new Polaris system.
• C1- Using Fluidigm’s new high-throughput IFC, researchers can discover critical sub populations and profile rare cell types by sequencing the transcriptomes of up to 800 single cells.
• Access Array library prep with Juno - It is now possible to validate discoveries by resequencing up to 5,000 known and novel mutations per sample with the scalable, easy, and flexible new Access Array™ library prep workflow using the Juno™ instrument.

Use of Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to Fluidigm’s new products, and Fluidigm’s plans, objectives, expectations and/or strategies relating to such new products. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated results, including challenges inherent in developing, manufacturing, launching, marketing, and selling new products; Fluidigm’s sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities; and interruptions or delays in the supply of components or materials for, or manufacturing of, its products. Information on these and additional risks affecting Fluidigm’s business and operating results are contained in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information will also be set forth in Fluidigm’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and Fluidigm disclaims any obligation to update these statements except as may be required by law.

About Fluidigm

Fluidigm (NASDAQ:FLDM) develops, manufactures, and markets life science analytical and preparatory systems for growth markets such as single-cell biology and production genomics. We sell to leading academic institutions, clinical laboratories, and pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agricultural biotechnology companies worldwide. Our systems are based on proprietary microfluidics and multi-parameter mass cytometry technology, and are designed to significantly simplify experimental workflow, increase throughput, and reduce costs, while providing excellent data quality. Fluidigm products are provided for Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

We use our website (www.fluidigm.com), corporate Twitter account (@Fluidigm), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Fluidigm), and LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/fluidigm-corporation) as channels of distribution of information about our products, our planned financial and other announcements, our attendance at upcoming investor and industry conferences, and other matters. Such information may be deemed material information and we may use these channels to comply with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Therefore, investors should monitor our website and our social media accounts in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, and webcasts.

For more information, please visit: www.fluidigm.com

Fluidigm, the Fluidigm logo, Polaris, Singular, C1, Biomark, CyTOF, Access Array, and Juno are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fluidigm Corporation.