How do we enable ultrasensitive biomarker quantitation? Here's our FAQ guide to Taudia's SPLASH Technology
Explore answers to common questions about our ultrasensitive workflows for blood-based biomarker detection for Alzheimer’s disease and beyond.
About Taudia
Who is Taudia?
We created a new blood-based biomarker quantitation platform technology focused on neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our wash-based, ultrasensitive assay provides reliable and cost-effective protein quantification of low-abundance protein biomarkers, empowering earlier, more accurate, and more accessible insights into disease progression.
What’s the focus beyond Alzheimer’s Disease?
Like in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), many neurodegenerative diseases rely on expensive and invasive techniques such as imaging or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) testing for diagnosis. By contrast, blood-based biomarkers offer a simple, cost-effective, and scalable alternative. With Taudia’s assay, a routine blood draw can deliver clinically meaningful data in hours, not days. While AD has the most well-established clinical biomarkers, new biomarkers for other neurodegenerative diseases are being uncovered. Taudia is actively collaborating with researchers to develop blood-based tests for these novel biomarkers.
Which biomarkers do we measure?
Our first products quantify key Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in blood, including pTau-217, Aβ42, AB40, NfL and GFAP.
Our menu will continue to expand as we begin to understand which biomarkers are critical in other diseases.
How can you access our platform?
We are currently offering early access programs. You can:
- Partner with us to validate your biomarkers.
- Pilot Taudia’s technology in your lab.
- Contact us to discuss collaborations for clinical trials or diagnostic integration.
Technology & Workflow
How does our technology work?
Taudia uses a wash-based immunoassay workflow that improves sensitivity and reproducibility:
- Antibody binding: Modified antibodies form immunocomplexes with the protein of interest.
- Wash step: Minimizes background interference for precision.
- Quantitation: DNA tags are ligated and quantified via qPCR or dPCR.
The available automated and benchtop workflow options ensure flexibility for everyone, enabling consistent, accessible, and ultrasensitive detection of blood biomarkers.
What do you mean by flexible workflows?
We offer both a benchtop and fully automated workflow, so you can choose based on your lab setup and throughput needs.
Why both matter:
The benchtop option gives labs flexibility and provides a low barrier to entry while still offering ultrasensitive detection. You can get the same reliable quantitation on standard qPCR instruments.
The automated option accelerates workflows, reduces hands-on time, and reduces operator error, especially vital for high-throughput research or clinical environments.
How are neurological biomarkers validated, and what makes a biomarker clinically useful?
Taudia’s SPLASH™ platform has been validated through spike-and-recovery testing, dilution linearity, and independent clinical sample studies, all of which support what ultimately makes a biomarker clinically useful: the ability to reliably differentiate disease states, correlate with established measures like positron emission tomography (PET) imaging or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, and inform diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment decisions.
Biomarkers & Clinical Applications
Who benefits from our blood test for Alzheimer's?
- Biopharma: For biomarker verification, patient enrollment, and companion diagnostic development.
- Healthcare providers: To offer patients non-invasive, affordable, early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) blood test options.
- Researchers: To quantify AD biomarkers with greater confidence and sensitivity.
How do we improve clinical trials and research?
Taudia uses a wash-based immunoassay workflow that improves sensitivity and reproducibility:
- Antibody binding: Modified antibodies form immunocomplexes with the protein of interest.
- Wash step: Minimizes background interference for precision.
- Quantitation: DNA tags are ligated and quantified via qPCR or dPCR.
The available automated and benchtop workflow options ensure flexibility for everyone, enabling consistent, accessible, and ultrasensitive detection of blood biomarkers.”
What are the biggest challenges preventing widespread adoption of blood-based biomarkers?
The cost and complexity of existing ultrasensitive platforms, combined with the limited availability of assays that labs can run without specialized instrumentation, remain key barriers to widespread adoption of blood-based biomarkers. Taudia addresses these challenges by offering SPLASH™ kits that deliver ultrasensitive biomarker quantitation on standard qPCR instruments, with a simple workflow designed to lower the barrier to entry for any laboratory.
How are blood-based biomarkers changing clinical trial screening, drug development, and patient care?
Blood-based biomarker testing is enabling faster, more cost-effective patient screening for clinical trials by identifying candidates with confirmed pathology earlier in the enrollment process. In drug development, biomarker panels support pharmacodynamic monitoring and treatment response assessment without repeated positron emission tomography (PET) scans or lumbar punctures. Accessible blood-based assays are also bringing neurodegenerative disease detection closer to routine clinical practice.
Can blood-based biomarker testing complement or replace PET imaging and CSF analysis?
Blood-based biomarker assays are increasingly being used alongside positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, and in certain research and screening contexts, as a more accessible alternative. While PET and CSF remain gold-standard confirmatory tools, ultrasensitive blood-based quantitation of biomarkers like pTau-217 and the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio has shown strong concordance with these methods. For clinical trials and population-level screening, where cost, invasiveness, and scalability are limiting factors, blood-based testing offers a practical path to broader biomarker adoption.
The Future of Biomarker Detection
Can our platform help monitor brain health?
Maintaining brain health requires more than symptom checks. Emerging research shows that blood biomarker tracking can reveal changes in neural integrity long before clinical signs appear.
Key markers such as neurofilament light (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) reflect neuronal injury and glial response, offering a clearer view of brain aging and pathology than clinical evaluation alone.
Taudia’s ultrasensitive, flexible, and scalable platform is well-positioned to enable future blood tests that help people monitor trends, detect deviations, and act earlier to safeguard brain health.
Which biomarkers are emerging as the next generation beyond Aβ, tau, NfL, and GFAP?
Researchers are actively investigating several promising targets for neurodegenerative disease detection. Taudia is developing SPLASH™ assays for next-generation biomarkers including brain-derived pTau-217 (BD-pTau-217), which may offer even greater specificity for Alzheimer’s pathology; eMTBR-Tau243, a mid-region tau fragment linked to tau tangle pathology; and LRRK2 for Parkinson’s disease.
Where is blood-based biomarker detection heading over the next 5 to 10 years?
The field is moving toward routine, accessible blood-based screening for neurodegenerative diseases, with multiplex panels replacing single-analyte testing. Advances in ultrasensitive quantitation are expected to support earlier detection, broader population screening, and more precise monitoring of treatment response in clinical trials.