Nikon Instruments Inc. (Nikon) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Nikon BioImaging Lab Lexington in Massachusetts, USA, where it will provide research and development functions as well as drug discovery support development services. Similarly, the Nikon Healthcare R&D Center, a new research and development facility specializing in drug discovery support, has also been established at Shonan Health Innovation Park (hereafter, Shonan iPark) in Japan. Both of these innovation sites join a global network of Nikon imaging centers and laboratories through which Nikon will continue to provide product and service solutions to meet the needs of customers worldwide.

Imaging-based technologies play a critical role in many facets of drug discovery and therapeutics development, from early-stage high content screening of drug candidates, to preclinical safety and efficacy assessment, and even translational characterization of tissues for pathological diagnosis and treatment response. Technological advances in microscope design along with the rapid evolution of new technologies such as AI-enhanced image processing and analysis, spatial omics, and complex 3D cell culture systems are enabling the generation of more information-rich data than ever before to drive drug discovery.  Harnessing all these technologies for efficient drug discovery support is a key growth driver of Nikon's medium-term management plan and requires a robust research infrastructure.

Towards that goal, Nikon previously established the Nikon BioImaging Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA in 2019, Shonan iPark in Japan in 2021, and Leiden BioScience Park in the Netherlands in 2021, to provide effective drug discovery support in regions with high concentrations of biopharma companies and venture-backed startups. Each Nikon BioImaging Lab is fully equipped with advanced microscopes and wet lab facilities, and staffed by experienced scientists who collaborate with customers to develop solutions for their needs, ranging from cell culture to imaging-based studies of biological tissues and bioassays. As the newest and largest Nikon BioImaging Lab to date, Nikon BioImaging Lab Lexington greatly expands Nikon's bioassay development capabilities with space to house a wider range of microscopes and other critical instrumentation. In Japan, the new Nikon Healthcare R&D Center at Shonan iPark, where Nikon BioImaging Lab Shonan is also located, will serve a similar purpose as a site for bioassay research, analysis and demonstrations.

The Nikon BioImaging Lab and Nikon Healthcare R&D Center are the latest additions to a growing global network that includes Nikon Imaging Centers and Nikon Centers of Excellence at leading research institutions. Through these hubs, Nikon strives to collaborate with scientists working in industry and academia to not only meet their immediate research needs, but to also drive development of cutting-edge innovations and products to meet future needs in drug discovery, basic research and healthcare.