Bio Techne Launches Ultra-Sensitive Neurological Biomarker Assays

New Simple Plex assays on Ella platform enable femtogram-level detection to accelerate neurodegenerative disease research

Jan. 28, 2026 at 4:23pm

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Bio-Techne Corporation has announced the launch of Simple Plex Ultra-Sensitive Assays on its Ella automated benchtop platform. These new assays can detect extremely low-abundance proteins in blood at femtogram concentrations, enabling earlier insights into neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, ALS, MS, and Parkinson's.

Why it matters

Early detection of neurodegenerative disease biomarkers has historically been limited by their very low abundance in accessible biofluids like blood. These ultra-sensitive assays overcome this challenge, allowing researchers to detect subtle, early biological changes that were previously missed. This can accelerate insights into disease onset, progression, and treatment response.

The details

The new assays can reliably quantify key biomarkers including NFL, GFAP, pTau 217, and Amyloid β (aa1-42) at femtogram-level concentrations. Ella's automated microfluidic platform reduces manual steps and variability, delivering these ultrasensitive results in under 3 hours. This enhanced sensitivity and reproducibility supports earlier disease characterization and more reliable high-throughput studies.

  • Bio-Techne launched the new Simple Plex Ultra-Sensitive Assays on January 28, 2026.

The players

Bio-Techne Corporation

A global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne generated over $1.2 billion in net sales in fiscal 2025 and has approximately 3,100 employees worldwide.

Ella

Bio-Techne's automated benchtop platform that is cited in more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications and widely adopted in translational and clinical neurology research.

Will Geist

President of Bio-Techne's Protein Sciences Segment.

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What they’re saying

“The introduction of Simple Plex Ultra-Sensitive assays on Ella significantly advances the analytical capabilities available for neurodegenerative disease research. By combining femtogram-level detection with a fully automated microfluidic platform, Ella enables precise quantification of low-abundance biomarkers that are often undetectable with conventional immunoassay methods.”

— Will Geist, President of Bio-Techne's Protein Sciences Segment

What’s next

The new ultra-sensitive assays are intended for Research Use Only, as Bio-Techne continues to advance its immunoassay capabilities and drive breakthroughs in neuroscience research and precision medicine.

The takeaway

These femtogram-level detection assays on Bio-Techne's Ella platform represent a significant advancement in the analytical tools available for early-stage neurodegenerative disease research, enabling more reliable and sensitive insights that can accelerate the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics.