WOBURN, Mass. — Spear Bio, a developer of ultrasensitive protein biomarker detection technologies, introduced three new SPEAR UltraDetect immunoassays at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s Diseases (AD/PD 2026) and announced an expansion of its direct-to-customer operations across North America and Europe.
The newly unveiled assays include brain-derived p-Tau 217 (BD-pTau 217), alpha-synuclein (α-syn), and phospho-Ser129-alpha-synuclein (pS129-α-syn), designed to support research into neurodegenerative proteinopathies. The company said the move to direct customer engagement is intended to streamline access to its technology for laboratories worldwide.
The SPEAR UltraDetect BD-pTau 217 assay, released to early adopters last month, delivers 100 percent quantifiability in both healthy and diseased plasma samples, according to the company. The assay operates in a homogeneous, wash-free format and requires just 1 microliter of diluted plasma. It achieves a functional lower limit of quantification of 25 femtograms per milliliter and an average intra-plate coefficient of variation of 5.7 percent, enabling detection of Alzheimer’s-related tau changes at the preclinical stage while preserving sample volume for longitudinal studies.
“Our goal is to place the most sensitive protein biomarker tools in the hands of scientists tackling complex neurodegenerative diseases,” said Feng Xuan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Spear Bio. “By expanding our assay portfolio and transitioning to direct customer engagement, we are empowering researchers to generate higher-quality data with greater efficiency, accelerating the path from discovery to clinical impact.”
In addition to the tau assay, Spear Bio introduced α-syn and pS129-α-syn assays aimed at addressing research needs in Parkinson’s disease and related synucleinopathies. The company said both assays can quantify monomeric, oligomeric, and post-translationally modified synuclein species at low femtogram concentrations using just 1 microliter of diluted sample. The assays are designed to run on widely available qPCR instruments, eliminating the need for proprietary readers.
Oliver Tassinari, Vice President of Business Development & Strategy, emphasized the value of minimal sample input. “SPEAR UltraDetect delivers attomolar sensitivity using just 1 µL of sample,” Tassinari said. “For researchers working with precious biobanked samples, low sample volume requirement means richer data from more assays without depleting samples.”
Spear Bio, an official sponsor of AD/PD 2026, also presented new validation data across multiple poster sessions during the conference, along with a product theater presentation held March 21 at the Bella Center.
