Adam Bonislawski

The method combines tissue clearing and high-sensitivity mass spec to enable identification and proteomic profiling of affected cells early in a disease process.

The Stanford researcher and his colleagues have launched a pair of companies, Iollo and RHTM, to commercialize the approach.

Such direct infusion mass spec workflows are niche within proteomics, but sample handling and ion mobility advances could drive future adoption.

While deals got done, it was a far cry from the boom times of 2021, with firms becoming more circumspect as they anticipated a possible recession and falling valuations.

For proteomics firms, 2022 marked a reversal from an earlier boom, but the field pushed into emerging areas like single-cell, single-molecule, and spatial analyses.

CEO Michael Egholm, a former Danaher exec, said he sees Standard BioTools' flaws as emblematic of problems hampering the broader life science tools industry.

Cofounded by a former Olink executive, the firm uses DNA-linked antibodies for highly multiplexed identification and localization of cell surface proteins.

Called the Human Disease Blood Atlas, the project aims to profile roughly 10,000 individuals a year, amounting to annual Olink assay costs of more than $5 million.

The University of Zurich spinout is using Standard BioTools' Hyperion system for its analyses and recently raised CHF 7.5 million in seed funding.

The increasing speed of mass spec instruments and the move toward analysis of extremely small samples are prompting some to give CE a look.