Life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) announced on Monday its participation in Spear Bio's USD45m Series A funding round, alongside Foresite Capital and other investors.

Spear Bio will use these funds to accelerate product development and expand in-house manufacturing. Founded in 2021 in Woburn, Massachusetts, Spear Bio specializes in ultra-sensitive immunoassays for detecting protein biomarkers at attomolar levels.

Spear Bio's proprietary Successive Proximity Extension Amplification Reaction (SPEAR) technology is licensed from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. SPEAR utilizes target-binding probes that bind to proximal sites in a protein's structure, enabling multiple "handshakes" to synthesize a unique DNA sequence for amplification and quantification via qPCR. This reduces background noise significantly compared to conventional assays.

Spear Bio's technology is ideal for detecting low-abundance biomarkers in fields like neurology, inflammation, and oncology, with initial applications in Alzheimer's disease research. The assays are compatible with existing qPCR equipment, facilitating adoption in research and clinical settings. This funding positions Spear Bio to rapidly advance their next-generation assays and target historically challenging biomarkers.