Carterra Inc., the leading provider of technologies enabling high-throughput biology, today announced the launch of the Carterra Vega™ High-Throughput Surface Plasmon Resonance (HT-SPR) instrument. The industry’s first 48-channel SPR platform, Vega delivers 12-fold higher throughput versus the market leading system for small molecule through large molecule discovery and development workflows.
Image Credit: Carterra Inc.
In the past, due to the lower throughput of traditional SPR platforms, researchers had to sacrifice resolution for speed, relegating SPR to secondary screening roles. That sacrifice is no longer necessary. Vega opens a new era, enabling the primary screening of large libraries with high-resolution binding.
Vega’s initial software configurations can screen more than 20,000 small molecule interactions per day, compared to a few thousand per day with current SPR systems. The Carterra Vega flow cell format includes an internal reference and two binding locations in every channel, allowing researchers to run the broadest range of label-free SPR applications currently available. Its speed, automation, and minimal sample consumption expand workflow flexibility across multiple applications and assay formats without operator intervention. With the optional robotic module, the instrument can operate unattended for days, further increasing throughput and efficiency.
Carterra’s Vega platform comes at a time when there is a pressing need for highly parallel analysis of molecular interactions. AI-based drug discovery is now a part of most pharmaceutical and biotech discovery workflows. Carterra’s platforms, and now Vega in particular, enable investigators to train their algorithms from high-resolution data sets scaled to unprecedented size. There are no other label-free technologies that enable AI drug discovery at this scale.
Carterra’s HT-SPR portfolio has been adopted by all the top 20 largest pharmaceutical companies, major Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and biotechs worldwide. Vega is Carterra’s latest innovation, developed to bring together industry-leading sensitivity and throughput in one platform. Building on the enhanced optics, advanced microfluidics and thermal control of the Carterra Ultra® system launched in 2024, the Carterra Vega addresses a long-standing need among drug discovery scientists for parallel SPR measurements across a substantially higher number of channels.
The process for putting Vega through its paces was conducted by Carterra scientists side-by-side with four Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) comprised of three of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and one of the largest CROs. Both large and small molecule applications were optimized on the platform netting two application notes that are available now. Carterra is preparing to ship the first Vega purchase in Q1 of this year to one of the pharma KOLs who will be bringing it online immediately to speed small molecule discovery.
One of the greatest challenges scientists face is time: the time required to screen large libraries of small molecules and fragments to find a promising lead. This process has been limited by the capabilities of legacy SPR systems. From working closely with researchers, we understand this is a significant frustration.
The Carterra Vega platform is a technological leap forward - a true step change. Faster hit discovery with 48 parallel channels means a quicker route to viable clinical candidates. Vega is the only platform of its kind, opening new possibilities for early discovery teams to reshape workflows and accelerate pipelines.”
Josh Eckman, Co-Founder and CEO, Carterra
The Vega platform is launching at Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) Conference and Exhibition, February 7-11th 2026, in Boston, MA, Booth #1138.