Send us your marker list
Tell us the markers that matter, your matrix, whether you are working in plasma, CSF or both, and your cohort size.
We will come back with the platform that fits each stage of the programme, the sensitivity you can expect for your specific targets, and what the work will take. We reply within one working day.
the question
The biology has not become simpler. The sample has become more accessible.
The last five years have transformed neurology biomarker research.
Markers of amyloid pathology, tau pathology, neurodegeneration, glial response and neuroinflammation can increasingly be interrogated through blood-based workflows alongside established CSF measurement. That opens new possibilities for screening, stratification, longitudinal monitoring and treatment-response studies.
But these biomarkers do not all sit in the same concentration range, and the analytical requirement changes between broad discovery, validated single-marker measurement and defined target panels.
The question is no longer whether the biomarker can be measured. It is which platform fits the biology and the intended use.
our programme
Where we fit
We run NULISA™, Simoa® and MSD® in-house and match the platform to the biological and analytical question, from broad discovery profiling to validated single-plex measurement and ultra-sensitive defined target panels.
Where genomic or epigenomic context adds value, sequencing on Element AVITI™ in the same laboratory extends the strategy into transcriptomics, APOE genotyping and whole-genome sequencing.
We are one of only five laboratories worldwide certified by Alamar for NULISA custom assay development, and the UK’s first Alamar Certified Service Provider for NULISA.
For neuroscience programmes working with targets outside the validated panels, that custom development certification is what makes the work possible here.
the strategy
Choose the resolution the programme needs
1. Broad neurological profiling
2. Established neurological multiplexing
3. Focused ultra-sensitive measurement
4. Genomic and epigenomic context
5. Targets outside the catalogue
Typical applications
HOW IT WORKS
From discovery to longitudinal monitoring
Discover
Broad profiling where the programme needs maximum biological coverage, before the markers that matter are known.
Validate
Move defined biomarkers onto established or focused ultra-sensitive assays, where analytical validation and comparability against published data matter more than breadth.
Monitor
Targeted measurement for longitudinal disease tracking, treatment response or clinical research, with the same assay and the same laboratory across every timepoint.
Keeping all three stages in one place protects comparability. Moving platform between discovery and validation is expected. Moving supplier as well adds variation you then have to defend at analysis.
Neuroscience expertise from both sides of the bench
Our scientists come from UCL, the University of Cambridge and the UK Dementia Research Institute, and from commercial immunoassay manufacturing at Randox. Academic neurodegeneration research and industrial assay development are different disciplines, and this work needs both – the first to know which analyte answers the question, the second to know whether it can be measured reliably.
On the platform side, the NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 220 covers the phospho-tau species most neurodegeneration programmes are built around, alongside broader neuroinflammatory and neurodegeneration markers – including in matrices conventional immunoassays cannot reach.
why Altheome
Platform breadth matters more in neuroscience
Neurology biomarker work increasingly demands different platforms at different stages: broad discovery on one, validation on another, longitudinal monitoring on a third.
We run NULISA, Simoa and MSD under one roof, so discovery, validation and clinical-grade work stay with the same laboratory and the same scientific team. A programme that moves between platforms does not have to move between suppliers or chains of custody.
Discovery
NULISA, broad profiling
Validation
focused assays on Simoa or MSD
Monitoring
targeted longitudinal measurement
One laboratory. The same scientific team across the programme.
Quality framework
HTA licence 12818, the UK framework governing the storage and use of human tissue
GCP-compliant workflows
Aligned to ISO 15189, the international standard for medical laboratories
Documented SOPs and full sample chain of custody
For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Tell us about your programme
Send your markers, your matrix and the study design. A senior scientist will tell you which platform fits each stage, and when one platform is enough.