X-ZELL launches world’s first expert-vetted multiplex panels for cytopathology

L-R: X-ZELL Founder & CEO, Dr Sebastian Bhakdi and Managing Director, Sebastian Grote.

Florence , May 2025 – X-ZELL is proud to announce the new Cryophore™ range of standardized multiplex antibody panels, developed in close collaboration with leading experts and WHO guideline authors from Europe and the United States.

X-ZELL Founder & CEO, Dr Sebastian Bhakdi, and Managing Director, Sebastian Grote, officially unveiled the new product line today at the International Congress of Cytology (ICC) in Florence, Italy.

Exclusively designed for use on the X-ZELL Next Generation Cytology (NGC) platform, the Cryophore™ range is the world’s first expert-vetted, off-the-shelf multiplexing solution for routine cytopathology, according to Dr. Bhakdi.

“In the age of minimally invasive diagnostics, multiplexing – the simultaneous application of multiple antibodies on a single cell sample – is the only viable way to meet the growing demand for diagnostic data from increasingly limited sample material,” he commented.

“By standardizing the selection of antibodies in collaboration with some of the leading names in modern cytopathology, we’ve taken the next logical step toward making multiplexing accessible to laboratories worldwide – and unlocking the full potential of minimally invasive diagnostics.”

Dr. Bhakdi noted that the Cryophore™ range was developed by an independent expert consortium composed of renowned thought leaders from Europe and the United States, who were given free rein to maximize clinical utility and patient benefit.

Bhakdi: “A new are of high-precision digital cytology”

X-ZELL’s NGC platform enables laboratories to apply up to eight biomarkers simultaneously to a single specimen and is purpose-built for use with minimally invasive samples, such as effusion fluids and fine-needle aspirations (FNA).

First introduced at the 2023 European Congress of Cytology in Hungary, the system has since undergone extensive clinical validation in real-world laboratory settings.

“The response from the cytopathology community has been overwhelmingly positive,” Dr. Bhakdi said in Florence. “It’s clear that the status quo — error-prone cell-blocking and single-marker staining — is no longer sustainable. NGC offers a reliable, scalable, and economical alternative.”

By eliminating the need for cell-blocking, standardizing sample processing and introducing multi-signal staining with digital readout, X-ZELL has laid the groundwork for a new era of digital, high-precision cytology, he added.

“The new Cryophore™ range takes that vision to the next level — offering standardized, eight-channel panels that transform the NGC platform into a true plug-and-play solution for modern cytopathology.”

Available from Q4 2025

The Cryophore™ range will be available later in 2025, with pre-orders now open. The initial release will include six panels designed to address the majority of routine cytology challenges. Additional panels for specific diagnostic contexts will follow in future updates.

Cryophore™ products will be offered in Research Use Only (RUO) and CE-IVDR versions. Combined with the CE-IVDR-marked NGC platform and Hybrid Microscope software, the launch positions X-ZELL as the provider of the first and only IVDR-compliant multiplexing solution for routine cytopathology.

ICC25 Exclusive: Preview of the new X-ZELL Cryophore™ range.

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Media Contact
Sebastian Grote
Managing Director, X-ZELL
sebastian.g@x-zell.com

About X-ZELL
X-ZELL is an award-winning medical technology company pioneering the field of next-generation cytology. The company’s mission is to transform cancer diagnostics by fusing novel laboratory technology with digital imaging to detect and visualise individual atypical cells in minimally invasive body liquids and digitize them for instant on-screen analysis. Founded by Y Combinator finalist, Dr Sebastian C.P. Bhakdi, X-ZELL was ranked second-most innovative healthcare start-up in the world in 2020 and has since won the coveted MedTech Innovator APAC competition as well as the Abstract Award at the 2021 European Conference of Cytology.