Lasers in life science: seeingthe future

Elizabeth Illy: Director of Marketing, Cobolt AB, Solna Stockholm

About Cobolt• Manufacture high performance laser solutions for advanced analytical instrumentation

• Combining sophisticated laser designs with proprietary manufacturing technology HTCure™

• Compact & ultra-robust high performance single-frequency lasers

• Broad portfolio: CW & pulsed, from UV to midIR

• Proven reliability for industrial metrology, clinical diagnosis and environmental monitoring

• Supplier to market-leading OEMs and key research labs

• Modern, scalable and ISO 9001 certified 700 m2 clean environment factory in Stockholm, Sweden

• Acquired by HÜBNER GmbH end 2015

2017-10-20

2Copyright © 2016 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

About HÜBNER Group• Global Group with German roots, family owned, since 1946

• > € 300M net sales

• > 2 400 employees

• HQ Kassel, Germany, 14 sites WW

• Driven by innovation

• Market leader of key components & solutions for railway vehicles and articulated busses

• Entered into lasers, THz & radar in 2006.• HÜBNER Photonics division formed 2016

2017-10-20

3Copyright © 2016 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

Cobolt History2000 Spin-out from KTH, Stockholm2003 Launch of 1st laser product2005 First to market high power CW yellow laser2007 Introduce HTCure™ laser manufacturing technology

Production ramp-up in new clean environment facility, SolnaRelease Cobolt 04-01 platform

2010 Release Cobolt 05-01 platform First to market with compact CW UV laser, ISO certified

2011 Release Cobolt 06-01 platform; plug-&-play modulatablediode lasers

2013 Establishing Cobolt INC in San Jose, USA2014 Release Cobolt Tor™ and Odin™; pulsed & midIR lasers2015 Release 08-01 platform

Merger with HÜBNER2016 10 000 lasers manufactured

Create HÜBNER Photonics2017 Introduce Cobolt Skyra™

2017-10-20

Copyright © 2016 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

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Fluorescence microscopy Flow cytometry Optogenetics

Raman Particle flow analysis Interferometry

LIBS

Semicon inspection Laser ultra-soncis Gas sensing

Industrial

Holography

LIDAR

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olCobolt markets & applications

Our journey servicing life sciences2000 Spin-out from KTH, Stockholm2003 Launch of 1st laser product2005 First to market high power CW yellow laser2007 Introduce HTCure™ laser manufacturing technology

Production ramp-up in new clean environment facility, SolnaRelease Cobolt 04-01 platform

2010 Release Cobolt 05-01 platform First to market with compact CW UV laser, ISO certified

2011 Release Cobolt 06-01 platform; plug-&-play modulatablediode lasers

2013 Establishing Cobolt INC in San Jose, USA2014 Release Cobolt Tor™ and Odin™; pulsed & midIR lasers2015 Release 08-01 platform

Merger with HÜBNER2016 10 000 lasers manufactured

Create HÜBNER Photonics2017 Introduce Cobolt Skyra™

2017-10-20

Copyright © 2016 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

Redefine business plan to address lifescience market by offering a replacementto the bulky and expensive Ar+ gas lasers

First OEM accounts for fluorescence microscopywith 561 nm DPSSL

Readdress needs for market for cheaper alternatives: introduce direct diodes, compliment missingwavelength with DPSSL technology

Re-enter the market with a new concept: Multi-line laser

Our journey servicing life sciences• Targeting instrument manufacturers in microscopy and flow cytometry with the right product at

the right time• Identify the prospects, entertain, find an opportunity and get designed in (and stay designed in!)• Won OEMs with 50 mW 561 nm 2005-2007.

– Older technology proved not as reliable as customers expected• Designed in at one of the Big 4 microscopy companies 2010 • Designed in at one of the Top 2 flow cytometry companies 2010

– new HTCure™ technology– Today extremely strong advantage

2017-10-20

Copyright © 2016 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

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Our journey servicing life sciences• Price pressure favoured cheaper technology and meant no strong pull for our complex

technology– Loose market share

• Try to address by introducing diode technology– Very competitive

• Identify new applications where our USPs give us a competitive advantage– Raman, interferometry– Strong growth in our Metrology segment

• How do we readdress todays needs in the life science market to regain market share?

2017-10-20

Copyright © 2017 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

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Challenges of servicing life sciences

2017-10-20

Copyright © 2016 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

• Meeting customers expectation on quality and reliability– Being a good supplier, on time and good quality

• Surviving the aquisition, benefit from the aquisition– Risks fo being kicked out

• Addressing the market needs– Price pressured market, simpler technology– With diode technolgy market can be addressed by many

more vendors as technology is much less complex comparedto DPSS technology

– More competition• Stay one step ahead with new technology

– Multi-line lasers, Cobolt Skyra™• Will enable systems to be smaller, less complex, easier to use

Seeing the future• Customers are wiser, more experienced and shop around• Photonics and lasers especially are now a commodity, more competition

– Need for vendors to address by providing system solutions like the multi-line laser concept

• Need for lasers in medical and life science systems is partly driven by the movetowards personalised medicine

• Techniques– flow cytometry– fluorescence microscopy– Raman spectroscopy– Photoacoustics imaging– OCT– DNA sequencing– And others

• Cobolt will still address life sciences!

2017-10-20

Copyright © 2017 Cobolt AB. All rights reserved

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Thanks!