Biolidics

About Biolidics

Biolidics Limited operates as a medical technology company, spun off from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2009. It was founded by entrepreneur Johnson Chen and Professor Lim Chwee Teck, who reconnected after their time at the University of Cambridge. The company was established to commercialize a microfluidic biochip technology developed by Prof. Lim and his team at the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering. Johnson Chen, with a background in engineering from Cambridge and experience in technology and finance, saw the commercial potential of the technology and led the spin-off. Biolidics went public, listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) Catalist in December 2018.

The company's core business revolves around developing and commercializing cell enrichment systems for cancer diagnostics. Its flagship product is the ClearCell® FX1 System, a fully automated, CE-IVD certified medical device that performs liquid biopsies. This system utilizes a patented, label-free microfluidics technology, embodied in the single-use CTChip® FR1, to separate and enrich wholly intact and viable circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from a small blood sample. The process is based on inertial focusing and spiral microfluidics, which separates cells based on their size and biomechanical properties without the need for labels, ensuring the retrieved CTCs can be used for various downstream analyses. The key benefit is providing a minimally invasive alternative to traditional surgical tissue biopsies for applications in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, treatment selection, and monitoring.

Biolidics' business model targets academic and research institutes, hospitals, and laboratories as its primary clients. Revenue is generated from the sale of the ClearCell® FX1 System and the associated consumable biochips. The system has been installed in facilities across Asia, the US, and Europe. In addition to its cancer diagnostics division, the company ventured into infectious disease diagnostics and laboratory testing services in 2020. Recently, Biolidics has been undergoing a significant strategic shift, diversifying into technology-enabled lifestyle businesses, including Multi-Channel Networks (MCN), e-sports, and live-streaming e-commerce. This diversification follows financial challenges and a desire to build more sustainable revenue streams. The company's name is set to change to Embracing Future Holdings Limited in June 2025 to reflect this new direction.