Technology & Business Focus

Biolog is a world leader in cell-based phenotypic testing technologies and assays. We have focused our efforts on developing technologies and products to test properties of cells (phenotypes) very simply and efficiently.

History

Biolog, Inc. is a privately held company that began operations in 1984. The company's product lines have been built upon patented technology that greatly simplifies testing of cells. Biolog's first products were introduced in 1988 and by 1990 it had established a profitable growing business in microbiology for the identification and characterization of microbial cells. In 1991, Biolog, Inc. was a recipient of the "R&D 100 Award" for the company's groundbreaking bacterial identification products. These products, marketed under the MicroLog™, MicroStation™ and OmniLog® brand names, are sold worldwide through direct sales as well as distribution. Biolog is the only company providing technology to identify a very wide range and large number of microbial species (> 2000) by simple phenotypic testing. The most recent additions to this product line include identification capabilities for dangerous pathogens and for filamentous fungi. The company produces and sells a variety of test kits and instruments to meet the needs of a wide customer base, servicing diverse markets in over 60 countries. The principal customers of our microbiology identification products are laboratories needing state-of-the-art capabilities, especially pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetics, and medical device companies, university and government research laboratories, labs testing for diseases in animals and plants, labs performing environmental monitoring, and companies or organizations involved in production or testing of food and drink.

From this technology base in 1999 and with an SBIR award from the National Institutes for Health, Biolog began development of its revolutionary Phenotype MicroArray™ technology. This groundbreaking technology allows researchers to evaluate thousands of cellular phenotypes simultaneously in both microbial and mammalian cells. Development of array sets testing nearly 2,000 phenotypes of microbial cells was completed and first introduced in September 2001. Work beginning in 2004 has subsequently resulted in array sets testing nearly 1,500 phenotypes of mammalian cells. These arrays are being used in a wide range of R&D applications including basic research in cancer, metabolic and mitochondrial disorders, nutrition, toxicology, drug discovery, and bioprocess development.

In addition to revenue from product sales, Biolog has received funding from private investments and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants and contracts from the National Institutes for Health (NIH), Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).