Laboratory events news
SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) returned to Europe in force for its 2026 Europe Conference and Exhibition, bringing together more than 1,500 attendees from over 30 countries and 137 exhibitors at the Vienna Congress Centre from 19–21 May.
Originally scheduled for 2020 and delayed for six years, the long-awaited event delivered a packed showcase of laboratory automation, screening technologies and emerging biotech innovation, with busy aisles, live demonstrations and strong engagement across the exhibition floor.
“It was great to finally get this one off the ground,” said Vicki Loise, CEO of SLAS. “The exhibition was buzzing with active visitors exploring new laboratory automation technologies and services.” She added that momentum is already building for next year’s meeting in Hamburg, Germany (25–27 May 2027), with exhibitors already pre-booking space.
A major highlight was Innovation AveNEW, SLAS’s dedicated start-up zone, which featured up to 12 emerging companies competing for visibility and the €5,000 Ignite Award. This year’s winner was Trince, recognised for its LumiPore™ photoporation platform, offering a faster alternative for intracellular delivery in research and clinical workflows. Judges praised its clear commercial strategy and its potential to simplify a traditionally time-consuming process.
The exhibition also recognised innovation across established exhibitors through three New Product Awards. Bionomous was awarded for Sortivo, a next-generation large-particle sorter designed to bridge New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) with high-throughput screening, integrating multiple workflow steps into a single platform.
Cube Biotech was recognised for PlateX MP™ Strep-Tactin®XT MagBeads, a streamlined membrane protein purification system enabling automated processing from lysate to analytical-grade samples in around two hours, reducing hands-on complexity and improving reproducibility.
nNano AG received an award for CERTUS RIVO, a 16-channel contactless dispensing system delivering high-precision liquid handling at nanolitre to microlitre scale, praised for its reimagined approach to channel capacity, speed and reagent recovery.
Scientific excellence was also recognised through SLAS’s student poster awards. Niall McIntyre of Imperial College London received the €500 prize for his poster, ‘Manufacturing a High-Throughput, Label-Free Platform for Rapid Screening of Drug Permeation Across in vitro Plasma Membrane Models’, with judges highlighting both the clarity of his presentation and the translational potential of his work.
With strong attendance, active engagement and a packed innovation showcase, SLAS Europe 2026 reinforced its position as a key meeting point for laboratory automation, screening technologies and translational research tools.
More information online
ILM Guide 2026/27
Product directory
