Full-Time
Business Development Manager
Immunoassays & Biomarkers
Spear Bio
51-200 employees
Detects low-abundance biomarkers with qPCR assays
Compensation Overview
$160k - $180k/yr
Washington, DC, USA + 4 more
More locations: Richmond, VA, USA | Virginia, USA | West Virginia, USA | Maryland, USA
Remote
Remote within the Mid-Atlantic region; approximately 30–40% travel is expected.
Master's, PhD
 Business & Strategy (1) |
|---|
Get referred to Spear Bio
See people who can refer or advise you
- A Master of Science or PhD in Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or a related field, with 3–10+ years of an established track record in sales or business development presenting ultrasensitive immunoassays or neurology in vitro diagnostic products to customers.
- Clear and proactive communication skills, advanced commercial sales acumen, high energy, a strong work ethic, and a bias for action.
- Ability to ask potential customers the right questions and strategically communicate how differentiated technology and performance will benefit them over the competition.
- Ability to clearly present technology solutions in a way that leads to strong revenue outcomes.
- Ability to translate observations and customer feedback into strategy.
- Comfort providing and receiving feedback designed to improve engagement and results.
- Ability to collaborate within a team environment comprising Field Application functions, Assay Services, and other groups.
- Willingness to travel up to 30–40% for customer engagement and industry events.
- Deliver sales presentations to clients to promote Spear Bio's value proposition.
- Demonstrate an understanding of neuroscience market dynamics and technology adoption to position Spear Bio as a superior solution for customers.
- Promote kit sales by providing instrument and Assay Service solutions to generate market adoption and revenue growth.
- Provide a funnel to be managed by senior Business Development Managers.
- Handle customer logistics and follow-up, including demonstrations, information sharing, and other technical details requested to engage customers.
- Use an existing network of scientific customers within Big Pharma, Biotech, contract research organizations, and academic market segments, along with knowledge of in vitro diagnostic markets including laboratory-developed tests.
- Exceed quotas and revenue targets and increase market share in the primary territory or region.
- Provide technical support to key opinion leaders throughout the United States and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
- Work closely with the internal Marketing team and contribute to lead-generation programs.
- Work with the Assay Services leader to support funnel building and provide voice-of-customer feedback to research and development teams on market dynamics.
- Jointly build a sales plan with personal and professional goals and success metrics.
- Provide regular updates on activity, forecasting, and funnel movement to support revenue outcomes.
- Apply insight into the current competitive landscape to develop strategies that enable Spear Bio to win in a competitive market.
- Travel approximately 30–40% directly with customers or partners to achieve expected sales results.
Spear Bio develops highly sensitive biomarker detection technology that can identify disease indicators even when present at very low levels, including single-digit protein counts. It uses a proprietary 2-factor authentication detection method with sub-microliter samples, enabling minimally invasive collection and testing on non-proprietary qPCR instruments for easy automation. The platform is designed to integrate into existing lab workflows, offering open-system compatibility and scalable testing for large groups. The goal is to provide labs and healthcare providers with precise, scalable biomarker detection to support broad screening and diagnostics.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Series A
Total Funding
$52.3M
Headquarters
Woburn, Massachusetts
Founded
2021
Get referred to Spear Bio
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- January 2026 Bio-Hermes-002 partnership places Spear Bio inside a high-profile Alzheimer’s validation study.
- March and July 2026 launches expand from Alzheimer’s into Parkinson’s and ALS markets.
- AAIC 2026 automation platform cuts manual handling, enabling higher-throughput lab adoption across North America and Europe.
What critics are saying
- Spear Bio remains product-dependent on neurodegenerative biomarkers; one failed assay readout kills adoption.
- Bio-Techne dominates distribution since July 2025, squeezing Spear Bio’s negotiating leverage and margins.
- No new financing since July 2024; runway tightens if 2026 launches miss sales targets.
What makes Spear Bio unique
- Spear Bio’s 1 µL, wash-free qPCR assays target femtogram biomarker detection.
- July 2025 Bio-Techne partnership broadened global distribution without proprietary instrument lock-in.
- March 2026 BD-pTau 217 launched with 100% quantifiability in healthy and diseased plasma.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Paid Vacation
Paid Sick Leave
Paid Holidays
Hybrid Work Options
Remote Work Options
401(k) Retirement Plan
Stock Options
Company Equity
Wellness Program
Mental Health Support
Conference Attendance Budget
Professional Development Budget
Phone/Internet Stipend
Home Office Stipend
Family Planning Benefits
Fertility Treatment Support
Adoption Assistance
Tuition Reimbursement
Professional Certification Support
Meal Benefits
Commuter Benefits
Childcare Support
Elder Care Support
Pet Insurance
Sabbatical Leave
Paid Holidays
Relocation Assistance
Performance Bonus
Profit Sharing
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Training Programs
Mentorship Program
Education allowance
Legal Services
Employee Discounts
Company Social Events
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -1%1 year growth
↓ -1%2 year growth
↓ -1%Spear Bio's SPEAR UltraDetect(TM) BD-pTau 217 Assay named a 2026 R&D 100 Award winner. Published on: August 11, 2026 Prestigious R&D 100 Award recognizes Spear Bio's innovation in ultra-sensitive measurement of brain-derived pTau 217 in plasma WOBURN, Mass.-(BUSINESS WIRE)- Spear Bio, a biotechnology company pioneering wash-free ultrasensitive immunoassay technology, today announced that its SPEAR UltraDetect(TM) BD-pTau 217 Assay has received a 2026 R&D 100 Award. Presented annually by R&D World, the awards recognize 100 of the year's most technologically significant new products and advancements from organizations around the world. For more than six decades, the R&D 100 Awards have recognized excellence in research and development across industry, academia, and government. The 2026 winners were selected from 149 finalists by a judging panel comprising more than 50 industry professionals from around the world. Brain-derived pTau 217 represents a central nervous system-specific subset of circulating pTau 217 and is present at substantially lower concentrations than total plasma pTau 217, making reliable measurement, particularly in healthy individuals and early-stage populations, a significant analytical challenge. The SPEAR UltraDetect(TM) BD-pTau 217 Assay addresses this challenge with a functional lower limit of quantification of 25 fg/mL while requiring just 1 μL of diluted plasma. Across the evaluated healthy-control and Alzheimer's disease plasma samples, the assay achieved 100% quantifiability. In PET-confirmed research cohorts, BD-pTau 217 measurements demonstrated strong differentiation between amyloid-negative and amyloid-positive groups, illustrating how greater analytical sensitivity can translate into more informative biological insight. "Brain-derived pTau 217 has historically been difficult to measure reliably because of the exceptionally low concentrations present in plasma," said Feng Xuan, PhD, Founder and CEO of Spear Bio. "This award recognizes the technical ingenuity of our team in developing the most sensitive BD-pTau 217 assay with the lowest sample-volume requirement. By overcoming a fundamental measurement challenge, we are giving researchers access to brain-derived tau biology across a broader biological range and enabling new opportunities for early-stage, longitudinal, and therapeutic research in Alzheimer's disease." "Breakthrough analytical performance alone is not enough, it has to be translated into a robust and reproducible product that researchers can use with confidence," said Zidong Wang, COO of Spear Bio. "Bringing this assay to market required close collaboration across assay development, technology transfer, operations, quality, and manufacturing. This award recognizes both the scientific innovation behind BD-pTau 217, and the disciplined cross-functional execution required to translate that innovation into a high-performance research tool." The assay is powered by Successive Proximity Extension Amplification Reaction (SPEAR) technology. Its two-factor authentication mechanism and homogeneous, wash-free format enable sensitive and precise protein measurement without solid-surface capture or washing, with results read using standard qPCR instrumentation. To learn more about the assay and review the supporting data, visit the SPEAR UltraDetect(TM) BD-pTau 217 Assay Kit product page: https://spear.bio/products/bd-ptau-217/ About Spear Bio Spear Bio, founded in 2021 and headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, is a biotechnology company pioneering wash-free ultrasensitive immunoassay technology. Its SPEAR UltraDetect(TM) assay platform delivers attomolar sensitivity from 1 μL of diluted sample and superior specificity of a homogeneous, wash-free format with readout on standard qPCR instruments. Built on an ultra-performance approach that integrates sensitivity, specificity, precision, and assay robustness, Spear Bio enables researchers and clinicians to reveal true biology with confidence. By combining exceptional analytical performance with simplified workflows and widely available laboratory infrastructure, the company is expanding access to high-quality protein biomarker insights and accelerating the translation of discoveries into clinical applications. Media Contact Courtney Shirley [email protected]
Spear Bio to unveil novel Alzheimer's disease immunoassays and fully automated instrument platform at AAIC 2026. July 7, 2026 san francisco biotechnology network news news, syndication comments off on spear Bio to unveil novel Alzheimer's disease immunoassays and fully automated instrument platform at AAIC 2026. WOBURN, Mass.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Spear Bio, an innovator in ultrasensitive protein biomarker detection, today announced plans to unveil new SPEAR immunoassay and instrument innovations at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference(R) 2026, taking place July 12-15 in London, UK. The launches include the first commercially available singleplex immunoassay for eMTBR-Tau, a novel epTau 217 assay for measuring pTau 217 across venous and capillary blood, and an instrument platform to fully aut Click here to view original post Discover more Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
Spear Bio will unveil new Alzheimer's disease immunoassays and a fully automated instrument platform at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2026 in London this month. The launches include the first commercially available singleplex immunoassay for eMTBR-Tau and a novel epTau 217 assay for measuring pTau 217 across venous and capillary blood. Both assays use Spear Bio's proprietary Successive Proximity Extension Amplification Reaction technology, which requires just 1 µL of diluted plasma. The new instrument platform will automate SPEAR workflows from sample to qPCR-ready plate, reducing manual handling and supporting more consistent execution of biomarker assays. The Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, founded in 2021, aims to provide researchers with tools to measure complex Alzheimer's disease biology and support neurodegenerative disease research.
Meet Spear Bio at the 5th ALS Drug Development Summit. Event Date: June 2, 2026 Spear Bio is attending the 5th ALS Drug Development Summit, taking place June 2-4, 2026 in Boston, MA, where leaders across biotech, pharma, academia, clinical development, regulatory science, and patient advocacy will come together to accelerate the next generation of ALS and FTD therapeutics. As ALS and FTD programs increasingly rely on more predictive translational strategies, patient stratification, longitudinal monitoring, and blood-based biomarker insights, Spear Bio is helping researchers detect low-abundance protein biomarkers with exceptional sensitivity from ultra-small sample volumes. Featured presentation. SPEAR Immunoassays for Neurodegenerative Biomarker Detection Wednesday, June 3, 2026 | 9:00 am ET * A novel immunoassay platform enabling ultra-sensitive detection of low-abundance neurological biomarkers in blood * Advancing translational and clinical research through high sensitivity, specificity, and precision across challenging neurodegenerative biomarkers * Expanding beyond established biomarkers with custom assay development to support biomarker-driven therapeutic development Feng Xuan, PhD Founder & CEO, Spear Bio Let's talk biomarkers in Boston. Whether you are building an ALS translational strategy, evaluating blood-based biomarkers, developing assays for low-abundance targets, or looking for more sensitive tools to support neurodegenerative research, its team would welcome the opportunity to connect.
Spear Bio launches ultrasensitive assays to advance Parkinson's disease biomarker testing. Published: 21 May 2026 In March 2026, Spear Bio introduced three new ultrasensitive immunoassays that are specifically designed to advance blood-based biomarker testing for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and debuted the products at the International Conference on Alzheimer's & Parkinson's Diseases in Copenhagen. The new SPEAR UltraDetect immunoassays target brain-derived phosphorylated tau 217 (BD-pTau 217), α-synuclein (α-syn), and phospho-Ser129-α-synuclein (pS129-α-syn) protein biomarkers associated with neurodegenerative proteinopathies. The product launches align with the company's establishment of direct-to-consumer operations in North America and Europe, based in Woburn, Massachusetts. BD-pTau 217: detecting Alzheimer's at the preclinical stage. The SPEAR UltraDetect BD-pTau 217 Assay was first released to early adopters last month and is described by the company as the only brain-derived pTau 217 test to achieve 100% quantifiability in both healthy and diseased plasma samples. Operating in a homogeneous, wash-free format, the assay requires just 1 μL of diluted plasma, achieves a functional lower limit of quantification of 25 fg/mL, and an average intra-plate coefficient of variation of 5.7%. According to the company, these performance characteristics enable investigators to detect Alzheimer's disease-related tau changes at the preclinical stage while conserving sample volume for longitudinal studies, a critical consideration for researchers managing limited biobanked specimens. "Our goal is to place the most sensitive protein biomarker tools in the hands of scientists tackling complex neurodegenerative diseases," stated Feng Xuan, founder and chief executive officer of Spear Bio. "By expanding our assay portfolio and transitioning to direct customer engagement, we are empowering researchers to generate higher-quality data with greater efficiency, accelerating the path from discovery to clinical impact." According to Precedence Research, the parkinsons disease biomarkers market size was USD 1.35 billion in 2025 and is projected to increase from USD 1.54 billion in 2026 to approximately USD 4.88 billion by 2035, expanding at a CAGR of 13.80% from 2026 to 2035, driven by the growing need for early diagnosis, rising shift to blood-based diagnostics, increasing global cases of Parkinson's diseases, rapid advancements in alpha-synuclein assays, and increasing investments in clinical trials for disease-modifying therapies.