XDemics Wins 2026 SLAS Ignite Award for Best Startup
Cell expansion technology company recognized as most promising startup at North America’s largest laboratory automation conference
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., (Feb. 12, 2026) -- XDemics Corporation, a Caltech spinout developing advanced cell production technologies, today announced that it has been awarded the 2026 SLAS Ignite Award at the SLAS International Conference and Exhibition in Boston. The Ignite Award recognizes the most promising startup company exhibiting within Innovation AveNEW, a designated area of the exhibition floor for early-stage life sciences companies.
XDemics was selected from among eight finalists by an independent SLAS panel that evaluated each company on market potential, marketing presence, ability to communicate a clear value proposition, funding prospects, plan for growth, and balanced leadership. The award carries a $5,000 cash prize.
The company was recognized for its High-Density Cell Respiration™ (HDCR™) cell expansion technology, which combines a medical-grade, gas-permeable membrane with a proprietary geometric design to create replicative niches that support high-density cell growth and direct control of pericellular oxygen at any setpoint. The platform is engineered to maintain cell quality, scalability, and efficiency across both research and industrial applications, addressing a critical bottleneck in the production of cells and their products at all scales.
The SLAS 2026 International Conference and Exhibition, held February 7-11 in Boston, drew more than 7,600 registrants from 47 countries and featured 419 exhibitors. The event is North America’s largest gathering of laboratory automation providers and users in the life sciences.
About XDemics Corporation
XDemics Corporation is developing the High-Density Cell Respiration (HDCR™) platform to overcome the oxygen delivery and shear stress limitations of conventional cell culture systems, enabling direct control of pericellular oxygen at any setpoint and achieving up to 100-fold higher cell densities with improved product potency and quality. The company's Expansify™ respiring cultureware and Profusion™ bioreactor products (under development) utilize HDCR™ to enable predictable, linear scaleup from 96- well plates to large bioreactors, supporting workflows from early discovery to commercial production of T cell, stem cell, and viral-based therapies. XDemics holds an exclusive license to a broad IP portfolio from Caltech and City of Hope, complemented by significant IP generated in-house. The company is headquartered in San Rafael, California.
Expansify™ cultureware is currently for research use only.
How to reach XDemics:
- For more information, please visit www.xdemics.com
- General inquiries, please email: info@xdemics.com
- Technical support or questions, please email: support@xdemics.com
About SLAS
The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) is an international professional society of academic, industry, and government life sciences researchers and the developers and providers of laboratory automation technology. For more information, visit www.slas.org.