Cytek Aurora® Evo System Wins BioTech Breakthrough Award for Drug Discovery Innovation of the Year

FREMONT, Calif., Nov. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spectral flow cytometry leader Cytek Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTKB) today announced that its Cytek Aurora^® Evo system has been named Drug Discovery Innovation of the Year in the 2026 BioTech Breakthrough Awards. The annual program recognizes innovative companies, products and services across the life sciences and biotechnology industries.

As pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations (CROs) expand the use of high-parameter spectral flow cytometry in drug discovery and applied research, they face growing demands for sample throughput, automation and consistent data across instruments and research sites. The Cytek Aurora Evo system builds on the established performance of the Cytek Aurora^® platform with enhancements designed to help laboratories scale complex research workflows without compromising data quality.

“The Cytek Aurora Evo system is helping transform life sciences research by addressing the growing need for higher throughput, greater automation and reproducible data,” said Bryan Vaughn, Managing Director, BioTech Breakthrough. “By bringing these capabilities together without compromising flexibility or data quality, the system helps pharmaceutical and CRO laboratories scale high-parameter spectral flow cytometry across increasingly complex research workflows.”

Built on Cytek’s Full Spectrum Profiling™ (FSP^®) technology, the Aurora Evo system combines an advanced optical and electronics architecture with high acquisition speed and automated features. For workflows using plate wells, acquisition time has been reduced by approximately 40% compared with earlier generations. Automated startup and shutdown reduce operator intervention and extend instrument utilization beyond the workday, allowing laboratories to make greater use of instrument capacity. The platform is also being developed to provide a path toward automated sample processing using robotic arms. These improvements can help laboratories increase screening capacity and make more efficient use of instrument time, particularly when managing large sample volumes and time-sensitive studies.

The system also incorporates instrument harmonization to support more consistent, reproducible results across systems, laboratories and time. This is particularly important when pharmaceutical companies and CROs transfer assays between locations, where minimizing instrument-to-instrument variability can help researchers compare results with greater confidence.

“Modern drug discovery requires technologies that support increasingly complex experiments while helping laboratories work more efficiently and generate consistent, reliable data,” said Wenbin Jiang, Ph.D., CEO of Cytek Biosciences. “The Cytek Aurora Evo system addresses these needs by combining higher throughput and automation with the proven performance and reproducibility of the Cytek Aurora platform. This recognition reflects our continued commitment to advancing flow cytometry to meet the evolving needs of researchers.”

For more information, please visit https://cytekbio.com/pages/aurora-evo.

About Cytek Biosciences, Inc.
Cytek Biosciences (Nasdaq: CTKB) is a leading cell analysis solutions company advancing the next generation of cell analysis tools by delivering high-resolution, high-content and high-sensitivity cell analysis utilizing its patented Full Spectrum Profiling™ (FSP^®) technology. Cytek’s novel approach harnesses the power of information within the entire spectrum of a fluorescent signal to achieve a higher level of multiplexing with precision and sensitivity. Cytek’s platform includes: its core FSP instruments, the Cytek Aurora^®, Northern Lights^®, Cytek Aurora^® CS and Cytek Aurora^® Evo systems; the Muse^® Micro system; the Cytek Orion™ reagent cocktail preparation system; the Enhanced Small Particle™ (ESP™) detection technology; the flow cytometers and imaging products under the Amnis^® and Guava^® brands; and reagents, software and services to provide a comprehensive and integrated suite of solutions for its customers. Cytek is headquartered in Fremont, California with offices and distribution channels across the globe. More information about the company and its products is available at www.cytekbio.com.

Cytek’s products are for research use only and not for use in diagnostic procedures (other than Cytek’s Northern Lights-CLC system and certain reagents, which are available for clinical use only in China and the European Union).

Cytek, Full Spectrum Profiling, FSP, Cytek Aurora, Cytek Borealis, Northern Lights, Enhanced Small Particle, ESP, Cytek Orion, Muse, Amnis and Guava are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cytek Biosciences, Inc.

In addition to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), press releases, public conference calls and webcasts, Cytek uses its website (www.cytekbio.com), LinkedIn page and X account as channels of distribution of information about its company, products, planned financial and other announcements, attendance at upcoming investor and industry conferences and other matters. Such information may be deemed material information and Cytek may use these channels to comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Therefore, investors should monitor Cytek’s website, LinkedIn page, and X account in addition to following its SEC filings, news releases, public conference calls and webcasts.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Cytek’s business strategies, market opportunities, product plans and expectations, including with respect to the Cytek Aurora Evo system and its current and future capabilities. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, forecasts, beliefs, assumptions and information currently available to management. These statements also deal with future events and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, Cytek’s ability to successfully develop and introduce new products; global geopolitical, economic and market conditions; and other risks discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” set forth in Cytek’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC and other filings Cytek makes with the SEC from time to time, which contain a discussion of important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by Cytek’s forward-looking statements. Although Cytek believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot provide any assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct nor can it guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance, and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Cytek as of the date hereof, and Cytek disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements provided to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Cytek’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Olsen
Lages & Associates
(949) 453-8080
stephanie@lages.com

Investor Contact:
Mark Meehan
Senior Director, Investor Relations
Cytek Biosciences, Inc.
mmeehan@cytekbio.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a272f9cc-1d67-45d7-bd23-fbe73773b329

2026 BioTech Breakthrough Awards

The Cytek Aurora® Evo system has been named Drug Discovery Innovation of the Year in the 2026 BioTech Breakthrough Awards.