UK Biobank partners with industry on 'most detailed' immune map. The UK Biobank has teamed up with IMU Biosciences and other companies on the creation of what they hope will become "the world's most detailed, large-scale picture of the human immune system." The project - which will also involve lab tech firm Waters and Ultima Genomics - will draw on data from 80,000 blood samples collected from UK Biobank participants and generate more than 100 million multi-omic immune data points from each sample that will be used to advance research into health and disease. IMU is bringing its high-resolution immunology platform to the collaboration, while Walters will provide flow cytometry and multi-omic instrumentation capabilities and Ultima Genomics' recently launched UG200 sequencing platform will produce the data readouts. In time, the aim is to expand the database so it includes all 500,000 people in the UK Biobank. "This new dataset will provide our global research community with a valuable insight into how the immune system changes with ageing," commented Prof Naomi Allen, chief scientist at UK Biobank. "Scientists will be able to study which specific immune cell changes contribute to the future risk of conditions like cancer, diabetes, and dementia, paving the way for earlier disease detection and more accurate diagnosis," she added. "When complete, this detailed map of the immune system will in turn fuel the detection of new drug targets and help clinicians to understand who might respond best to a particular treatment." The partners said the project will add a "high-resolution immune profiling layer" to the UK Biobank's existing de-identified genomic, imaging, clinical, and lifestyle data generated from participants over the last 15 years. Data generated from the new initiative will, over time, be returned to UK Biobank and made available to approved researchers, who will be able to use it to gain a better understanding of how immune variation relates to disease risk, progression, treatment response, and long-term health outcomes. IMU has recently been awarded a £1.57 million Sovereign AI grant from the UK government to help deliver the project. Immunology and inflammation (I&I) has been growing fast to become one of the primary areas for pharma industry R&D, accounting for around 15% to 20% of all projects. That makes it second only to oncology, which commands 35% to 40%, according to market research estimates. "The immune system is central to ageing, infection, cancer, autoimmunity, metabolic disease, and neurodegeneration, but large-scale studies often lack the resolution needed to examine how immune variation relates to future outcomes," said the partners. "This study aims to reveal how immune profiles relate to disease risk, progression, treatment response, and long-term health outcomes." The immunology alliance follows a collaboration between the UK Biobank and the University of Exeter, supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and sequencing company Illumina, which will chart epigenetic variation - the molecular mechanisms that regulate how and when genes are expressed - across the human genome. 19 October, 2026

100 million readings from a single blood sample, and 80,000 samples to get through. What happened. On Monday 19 October 2026, a British company called IMU Biosciences announced a project with UK Biobank to build what the partners describe as the most detailed large-scale picture of the human immune system yet attempted. The first phase will take 80,000 blood samples that UK Biobank already holds, and analyse each one in extraordinary detail. The companies say they will generate more than 100 million immune data points from every single sample. UK Biobank is a long-running British health research project. It has followed around 500,000 volunteers over about 15 years. It already holds their genetic data, scans and images from 100,000 of them, protein markers from 54,000 of them, and a great deal of clinical and lifestyle information. What it has not had, in any depth, is a picture of the immune system. That is the layer this project is meant to add. The work is being done by four organisations together. IMU Biosciences runs the analysis using its own platform. Waters Corporation supplies the instruments that sort and read individual cells. Ultima Genomics provides the sequencing machine, its UG200. UK Biobank provides the samples and the health records they connect to. It is partly publicly backed. The project has a £1.57 million Sovereign AI grant from the UK government, through its Strategic Assets programme. Work begins in 2026. The partners say they hope to extend the work across the full 500,000-person group, though they describe that as an ambition rather than a commitment. Why this matters. Your immune system is not one thing. It is a large collection of different cell types, in different states, changing all the time. Two people with identical genes can have very different immune systems, shaped by infections, age, stress and chance. That variation is hard to study. Measuring it properly in one person takes a lot of work. Measuring it in tens of thousands of people, in a consistent way, has mostly been out of reach. The point of doing it inside UK Biobank is that the samples come attached to decades of health records. Researchers would not just see what someone's immune system looked like. They could look at what happened to that person afterwards. Professor Naomi Allen, UK Biobank's Chief Scientist, set out what that could allow. She said scientists "will be able to study which specific immune cell changes contribute to the future risk" of conditions such as cancer, diabetes and dementia. She also said the resulting map could help find new drug targets. Dr Adam Laing, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at IMU Biosciences, described the collaboration as representing "an important opportunity to add a new immune dimension" to the resource. There is a practical reason this is being done at this scale, rather than in several smaller studies. Gilad Almogy, Ultima Genomics' chief executive, put it plainly: "Generating data at this scale requires a combination of throughput, quality, cost efficiency and operational execution." Measurements only work as a comparison if they are all taken the same way. What the evidence actually says. This is an announcement about work that is starting, not a result. That distinction is worth holding on to. No findings have been published. Nothing here tells you anything new about cancer, diabetes or dementia today. What has been announced is a plan to build a dataset, some funding, and the equipment it will run on. The strength of the plan is real. UK Biobank's existing data is genuinely one of the most used health research resources in the world. The partners say more than 22,000 researchers in over 60 countries have access to it, and that it has contributed to more than 18,000 peer-reviewed papers. Adding a well-made immune layer to that is a sensible thing to do. The honest caveats are also real. The first is time. The data will be returned to UK Biobank "over time" and then made available to approved researchers through UK Biobank's existing application process. No dates for that have been given. Discoveries, if they come, come after that. The second is that the 500,000 figure being quoted in some coverage is the ambition, not the project. The committed phase is 80,000 samples. The third is that much of the detail in this announcement comes from company press releases. The figures about instruments, data points and partnerships are the partners' own descriptions of their own work. That does not make them wrong, but it is not the same as independent verification, and the republishing sites say as much themselves. One point on privacy, because people reasonably ask. UK Biobank data is de-identified, and researchers get access by application rather than by simply downloading it. That is the system this project is feeding into, not a new one. Practical advice. There is nothing here you need to do. But there are a few sensible ways to think about it. If you are a UK Biobank participant: - Your samples were given for exactly this kind of research. This is the resource being used as intended. - If you want to check what you agreed to, or change your participation, UK Biobank has a participant section on its website covering consent and withdrawal. If you follow health news: - Treat "scientists are building a dataset" and "scientists have found something" as two very different kinds of story. This is the first. - When results do arrive, the useful questions are how many people were studied, and whether the finding has been repeated elsewhere. If you work in or are studying science: - UK Biobank access is by application and is open to researchers internationally, including from industry. The process is documented publicly. And a general point. Large British research resources like this are quietly one of the more useful things the country has built. They are worth knowing about, and worth protecting, long before any single headline comes out of them. What to know. IMU Biosciences, UK Biobank, Waters Corporation and Ultima Genomics announced on 19 October 2026 that they will profile the immune systems of 80,000 UK Biobank participants in detail, producing more than 100 million immune data points per sample. The project has a £1.57 million Sovereign AI grant from the UK government and starts in 2026. The partners hope to extend it across UK Biobank's full group of 500,000 volunteers, but that is stated as an ambition. The data will be returned to UK Biobank over time and made available to approved researchers. No timetable for that has been published, and no findings exist yet. Much of the detail comes from the partners' own press releases, so it is best read as a credible statement of intent rather than an independently checked result. Sources: PR Newswire, "Ultima Genomics Selected for Landmark Large-Scale Immune Profiling Study with IMU Biosciences, UK Biobank and Waters Corporation", 19 October 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ultima-genomics-selected-for-landmark-large-scale-immune-profiling-study-with-imu-biosciences-uk-biobank-and-waters-corporation-302912051.html; Business Wire via Stockhouse, "IMU and UK Biobank to generate the world's most detailed, large-scale picture of the human immune system", 19 October 2026, https://stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2026/10/19/imu-and-uk-biobank-to-generate-the-world-s-most-detailed-large-scale-picture-of; UKTN, "IMU Biosciences raises £40m to change disease diagnosis", 2 June 2026, https://www.uktech.news/biotech/imu-biosciences-raises-40m-to-change-how-diseases-are-diagnosed-20260602. This article is for general information about medical research and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. #UK Biobank #medical research #immune system #health data #genomics #British science

IMU Biosciences selects Waters to advance breakthrough AI immune mapping platform to transform early diagnosis, monitoring, and precision medicine. Jun 24, 2026, 08:00 ET * IMU's AI platform unlocks unprecedented immune insights for cancer and other diseases, measuring 100M+ data points from a single blood sample, analyzed in real time. * Waters Biosciences' technologies, including BD FACSDiscover(TM) and BD Rhapsody(TM) Instruments, will be used with IMU's AI analytics in research to deliver deeper, population-level disease insights. * Partnership supports IMU's expansion of its world-leading immune dataset through large-scale studies, establishing a new standard for immune profiling. MILFORD, Mass., June 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) and IMU Biosciences, a biotechnology company decoding the immune system to pioneer a paradigm shift in how we understand, diagnose, and treat disease, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the development of IMU's next-generation AI-powered High Definition (HD) Immunology platform. The partnership brings together Waters Biosciences' advanced flow cytometry and single-cell technologies,[1] including BD FACSDiscover Cell Analyzers, BD flow cytometry reagents with BD Horizon(TM) Real Dyes, BD Rhapsody Instruments, and BD OMICS-One(TM) WTA Next Assay and Protein Panels, with IMU's HD analysis and proprietary AI and machine learning analytics, that can reproducibly characterize the immune system in real time, to turn complex immune data into insights at scale across discovery, translational, and clinical research applications. IMU measures the immune system in unprecedented detail, delivering more than 100 million data points from a single blood sample,[2] combining HD multiomic analysis with machine learning analytics. IMU is building the world's largest immune dataset,[3] with unrivaled access to patient samples and population-wide clinical data, establishing a universal standard for immune profiling. "Waters Biosciences was the clear partner to help IMU Biosciences scale our HD Immunology platform to the level required for true population-wide immune mapping, given their longstanding leadership in high-throughput flow cytometry and single-cell technologies," said John Baker, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, IMU Biosciences. "Our world-leading immune dataset and proprietary AI analytics will unlock the potential of Waters' best-in-class analytical instruments, accelerating our work to decode the immune system and power the next generation of precision medicine." Steve Conly, Senior Vice President, Waters Biosciences, Waters Corporation added, "By partnering with IMU Biosciences, we are helping to build the most detailed picture of the human immune system ever assembled at clinical scale. Together, our companies' cutting-edge technologies across instruments, reagents, and informatics will help advance immune profiling into a standardized, universally accessible clinical tool that can be used across the continuum of care for cancer and other diseases, supporting smarter, faster drug development." The companies intend to pursue additional studies in translational research for novel biomarker discovery to enable clinical applications in flow cytometry. Waters Biosciences and IMU Biosciences presented data at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry (CYTO 2026), demonstrating system-level immune profiling on the BD FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer with a 58-color spectral panel using BD reagents, and integration of high-throughput single-cell multiomics with the BD Rhapsody System. BD is a trademark of Becton, Dickinson and Company. Waters is a trademark of Waters Corporation or its affiliates. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. About Waters Corporation: Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. For more information, please visit www.waters.com/about. The BD Biosciences and BD Diagnostic Solutions businesses have been acquired by Waters Corporation ("Waters"). Becton, Dickinson and Company or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries ("BD") remains the legal manufacturer of Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions products until all required regulatory transfers are completed. During this interim period, BD maintains full responsibility for all regulatory obligations of the legal manufacturer. Product information provided here is supplied under BD's regulatory authority. To learn more about the relationship between Waters and BD during this transition period, please see our detailed summary: www.waters.com/bdtransaction. About IMU Biosciences: IMU Biosciences is decoding the immune system at unprecedented resolution, speed, and scale to pioneer a paradigm shift in how we understand, diagnose and treat disease. Founded by a leading team of experimental immunologists and computational biologists with over a decade of expertise from the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London - IMU is moving immune system analysis from a simplistic, fragmented view to a comprehensive, 'high definition' system. IMU uses a simple blood sample to measure the immune system in unprecedented detail, combining high-fidelity multi-omic analysis with proprietary machine learning analytics. IMU is building the world's largest immune dataset, with unrivalled access to patient samples and population-wide clinical data, and is establishing a universal standard for immune profiling to fuel discoveries, devise treatments, and empower clinicians. IMU is advancing its platform towards clinical application across a broad range of immune-mediated diseases and therapeutic contexts, with active programmes in stem cell and bone marrow transplantation, solid organ transplantation, and immuno-oncology. References: * All Waters products used in the partnership are research use only (RUO). * Sourced from IMU Biosciences Data: https://imubiosciences.com/our-science. * Sourced from IMU Biosciences Data: https://imubiosciences.com/our-science. Molly Gluck Head of External Communications Waters Corporation +1.508.498.9732 [email protected]