Spear Bio Inc., a biotechnology company enabling the measurement of protein molecules down to dozens of copies with ubiquitous qPCR equipment, announced the successful closing of its $45 million Series A financing. The oversubscribed round was co-led by Foresite Capital and Bio-Techne Corporation, with additional participation from existing investors including Maverick Ventures, Yonjin Capital and CDH Investments. Vikram Bajaj, Managing Director of Foresite Capital, has joined the company’s Board of Directors.
Leveraging standard qPCR instruments, with a three-step wash-free workflow, Spear Bio’s patented Successive Proximity Extension Amplification Reaction (SPEAR) technology precisely measures protein biomarkers at the attomolar level without high-affinity antibodies from less than 1 microliter sample volume, 100 times less than the typical sample volume required for immunoassays.
“We are grateful for the strong support from such an exceptional group of investors. Foresite has been instrumental in the success of multiple game-changing life science tool and diagnostics companies, and Bio-Techne is a global industry leader, providing solutions for scientific advancements and healthcare breakthroughs.” said Dr. Feng Xuan, co-founder and CEO of Spear Bio. “Their investment is a strong endorsement of SPEAR technology and the company’s vision. This funding will allow us to accelerate our assay menu expansion and commercial offerings to solve challenges in protein research and early disease diagnostics.”
“Foresite Capital is excited to support Spear Bio’s transformative mission,” said Dr. Vikram Bajaj, Managing Director of Foresite Capital. “I believe SPEAR technology has immense potential to advance neurodegenerative disease research and diagnostics by providing robust and scalable solutions for low-abundant protein biomarker measurement. I look forward to contributing to Spear Bio’s growth as a board member.”
We are excited to invest in Spear Bio. Spear Bio’s ultra-sensitive detection technology offers significant advantages over conventional immunoassay and next-gen proteomic technologies, enabling the quantification of mere dozens of protein molecules in a sample. This level of sensitivity unlocks several challenging applications and high-growth markets, including early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. Importantly, Spear Bio’s assays run on qPCR equipment, which is routinely found in research and clinical facilities, representing an existing installed base to run these groundbreaking assays.”
Kim Kelderman, President and CEO, Bio-Techne
Spear Bio is presenting its technology and applications to neurology at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Philadelphia from July 28th to August 1, at Booth #740 on the exhibit floor and Poster presentation #279 on Wednesday, July 31.