Dermot's diary #6

Details of a broad range of new products and opportunities, care of the Nippon Genetics' partnership.

News is that Celtic will be sponsoring the 2026 South African Association of Veterinary Technologists Congress soon. What are the details and why is it on Celtic's radar?  

Veterinary molecular diagnostics is one of the most exciting growth opportunities in laboratory medicine today. The sector is, in many respects, where human molecular diagnostics was two decades ago, rapidly evolving, increasingly adopting advanced technologies, and moving towards routine molecular testing as the standard of care.

Recognising this potential, Celtic Molecular Diagnostics has strategically expanded its veterinary portfolio and today offers one of the broadest menus of qPCR assays available in Southern Africa, covering both commercial livestock and companion animals. Our portfolio spans infectious disease diagnostics, genetic testing, and surveillance assays, providing veterinarians, researchers, and agricultural producers with access to world-class molecular diagnostic solutions.

Celtic has also developed an extensive range of veterinary antibodies and research reagents, supporting both diagnostic and scientific applications across animal health sectors.

The importance of advanced veterinary diagnostics cannot be overstated. Recent outbreaks, such as those of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV), have highlighted the significant economic impact of animal diseases on agriculture, food security, export markets, and the broader South African economy. Rapid, accurate molecular testing is critical for early detection, disease containment, and effective outbreak management.

As animal health, food security, and One Health initiatives become increasingly interconnected, Celtic Molecular Diagnostics remains committed to supporting the veterinary industry with innovative technologies that improve animal welfare, protect agricultural productivity, and strengthen biosecurity across the region. https://savetcon.co.za/2026-saavt-congress/

Contact Celtic Molecular Diagnostics to discuss how our veterinary solutions can support your needs.

In other developments, Celtic has just announced distribution of Nippon Genetics' products? They're huge – are you looking at specific elements?

Absolutely. The partnership with Nippon Genetics is a strategic milestone for Celtic Molecular Diagnostics and strengthens our offering to both the research and diagnostic markets.

While Nippon Genetics is well-known globally for its molecular biology reagents and laboratory instrumentation, we see particularly strong opportunities across several product categories.

Their Bambanker® cell freezing media for example is widely regarded as a leading solution for cryopreserving cell lines, enabling high post-thaw viability while simplifying laboratory workflows. This complements Celtic's growing cell biology and life science research portfolio.

In molecular biology, Nippon Genetics offers a comprehensive range of high-performance restriction enzymes and DNA manipulation reagents to support cloning, gene editing, synthetic biology, and academic research. These tools provide researchers with reliable, high-quality support for routine and advanced molecular workflows.

The company's spectrophotometers and photometers further enhance our instrumentation portfolio, offering researchers accurate and cost-effective solutions for nucleic acid and protein quantification, quality control, and routine laboratory analysis.

Perhaps most exciting is the expansion of our PCR and qPCR instrumentation offering. Nippon Genetics provides robust thermal cyclers and real-time PCR systems that deliver the performance, sensitivity, and reliability demanded by modern molecular laboratories. These platforms are ideally suited to academic research, biotechnology, veterinary diagnostics, food testing, and emerging molecular diagnostic laboratories.

Together with Celtic's extensive portfolio of molecular assays, extraction technologies, and life science reagents, the addition of Nippon Genetics allows us to offer customers a more complete end-to-end workflow, linking sample preparation and molecular biology research through PCR amplification, qPCR analysis, and data generation.

This partnership reinforces Celtic Molecular Diagnostics' commitment to bringing world-class molecular biology and diagnostic technologies to laboratories across Southern Africa, while providing researchers and diagnosticians with access to innovative solutions backed by local technical support and expertise.

And finally, you wanted to talk about P-Squared, your pipette calibration service. It's an important aspect of the business...

Absolutely. Molecular diagnostics and laboratory reagents and instrumentation are at the heart of our business, but we recognise that accurate and reliable liquid handling is fundamental to every laboratory workflow. Even the most advanced assays and instruments depend on pipettes performing to specification.

So through P-Squared, our sister company, Celtic Molecular Diagnostics offers a fast, cost-effective pipette calibration, servicing, and repair solution for laboratories across South Africa. Our dedicated technical team is able to service and calibrate a broad range of pipette brands and models, helping customers maintain accuracy, precision, and compliance with quality management requirements.

Regular pipette calibration is not only essential for generating reliable and reproducible results but also for meeting accreditation standards and reducing the risk of costly experimental or diagnostic errors. By providing local expertise and rapid turnaround times, P-Squared helps laboratories minimise downtime and maximise productivity.

As laboratories continue to focus on quality assurance and operational efficiency, demand for dependable calibration services continues to grow. P-Squared has become an important part of Celtic's value proposition, allowing us to support customers not only with the products they use but also with the ongoing maintenance and performance of critical laboratory equipment.

Ultimately, our goal is simple: to ensure that every microlitre dispensed is as accurate as the science demands it being.