Spear Bio, a biotechnology company pioneering homogeneous ultrasensitive immunoassay technology, today announced the commercial launch of its SPEAR UltraDetect™ immunoassay solution. It delivers unparalleled sensitivity, specificity, precision, and scalability for robust biomarker measurement. The initial launch includes four assays, targeting key neurology biomarkers: phosphorylated tau 231 (pTau231), phosphorylated tau 217 (pTau217), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light (NfL). Spear Bio will collaborate with Bio-Techne to distribute SPEAR UltraDetect immunoassays globally.
Unlike traditional ultrasensitive technologies, which rely on heterogeneous formats that require solid surface capture and multiple wash steps, Spear Bio's proprietary SPEAR technology is the first homogeneous immunoassay platform that achieves ultra-sensitivity without wash steps. It precisely quantifies protein biomarkers at attomolar concentrations from as little as 1 µl of diluted sample, greatly surpassing the most sensitive heterogeneous platforms on the market.
SPEAR technology further addresses longstanding specificity challenges by eliminating the non-specific binding common in heterogeneous assays, significantly reducing false-positive results. Its innovative two-factor authentication mechanism ensures that signal arises only when antibody pairs are co-localized on target proteins over an extended period of time.
The unparalleled sensitivity, specificity and precision provided by SPEAR UltraDetect immunoassays are key for reliably measuring low-abundance neurology biomarkers, especially in peripheral blood where these are often present at trace levels due to the blood-brain barrier. SPEAR UltraDetect immunoassays can be read on a wide range of qPCR systems adopted in research and clinical labs, with highly consistent results across different qPCR instruments and formats. This enables unique robustness, scalability, and ease of integration into existing laboratory workflows.
We are proud to deliver the first of its kind ultrasensitive immunoassay solution that could potentially solve the challenges that neurology researchers working with blood-based biomarkers have faced for years.
SPEAR UltraDetect will empower academic and clinical researchers worldwide to unlock new insights and improve therapies and treatments for a variety of neurological conditions."
Feng Xuan, PhD, Co-founder and CEO, Spear Bio
The SPEAR UltraDetect immunoassay solution will be showcased at the 2025 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), July 27-30 in Toronto, Canada, Booth #1527.