Bionomous releases Sortivo™, a new automated platform to handle complex biological models and accelerate NAMs adoption

Bionomous new automated solution

Bionomous, the Swiss-based startup that builds devices to automate processes in life science research, announces today the launch of its new platform, Sortivo™. The device automates the screening, sorting and plating of complex biological entities from 300 µm to ~2 mm such as zebrafish embryos and organoids, workflows that, until now, have relied on hours of manual pipetting under a stereomicroscope.

Sortivo integrates high-resolution brightfield and multi-channel fluorescence imaging with AI classification and gentle handling in a compact benchtop system. By combining the capabilities of image-based picking and large-particle sorting, Sortivo offers the same individualised, large-scale screening for large and delicate entities that flow cytometry provided for single cells.

Accelerating the adoption of NAMs

Sortivo arrives at a turning point for life science research and drug development pipelines. Regulators are actively encouraging the adoption of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs): non-mammalian, non-animal alternatives that combine ethical, sustainability and scientific advantages over traditional rodent or non-human primate models for toxicology and pre-clinical studies. Zebrafish embryos and organoids are at the heart of this shift, but their adoption at scale has been limited by the manual, labour-intensive nature of the workflows that surround them.

By automating those workflows, Sortivo helps academic, pharma and CRO labs translate the promise of NAMs into routine, reproducible experiments.

Frank Bonnet, CEO and co-founder of Bionomous, comments:

“Sortivo represents the next step in our mission to automate and accelerate life science research. Our customers told us very clearly: zebrafish and organoid workflows have outgrown manual sorting. They need a platform that combines gentle handling with image-based AI and standardised plating, and that they can actually afford and operate every week. Sortivo is our answer.”
Frank Bonnet
CEO & Co-founder Bionomous

Chief Marketing Officer & Co-founder, Ana Hernando Ariza, adds:

“What I am most proud of is that Sortivo was designed by biologists and engineers who understand the work done by hand. Every feature comes from a real conversation with a real lab. Sortivo is not just an automation device; it is a push for the kind of NAMs-based science that the industry is moving towards.”
Ana Hernando Ariza
CMO & Co-founder Bionomous

Read the official press release below.