News
4 apr. 2025
Aplex Bio today announces the commercial launch of its Hyperplex PCR™ kits, powered by proprietary Nanopixel™ chemistry with 100-plex performance.
STOCKHOLM – Aplex Bio, developer of the next-generation Hyperplex PCR™ platform, today announced the commercial launch of its Hyperplex PCR™ kits powered by proprietary Nanopixel™ technology. The new kits offer a dramatic performance leap beyond current legacy PCR and digital PCR (dPCR) methods, delivering unmatched multiplexing, single-nucleotide specificity, and digital quantification of over one million DNA molecules per well. A technical white paper showcasing the technology’s performance data is now available on the company website.
The Hyperplex PCR™ platform sets new standards by providing out-of-the-box single-nucleotide specificity combined with molecular counting capabilities – enabling true digital quantification with high dynamic range. The system surpasses traditional dPCR platforms not only in sensitivity and precision, but also by expanding the color space to 100 distinct, quantifiable codes, making it the first PCR platform ever to enable 100-plex in a single reaction.
Customizable Kits and Seamless Lab Integration
The Hyperplex PCR™ kits are now available in 20-, 50-, and 100-plex configurations, allowing users to customize panels of any size up to 100 individually quantifiable targets per tube or well. The molecular assay enables detection beyond 100 targets using clustering strategies to designate multiple targets to each code. The kits are complemented by consumables available as either microscope slides or high-throughput, automation-friendly 96- and 384-well plates. The images are automatically analyzed using the included software.
Importantly, the platform does not rely on microfluidics. Instead, it uses standard thermocyclers and certified by the company off-the-shelf imaging systems or fluorescence microscopes – removing significant cost and complexity. The secret lies in the proprietary chemistry, particularly the Nanopixels™, which encode fluorescence in a new dimensional space.
CEO Perspective: Performance and Cost Disruption
“Our platform overcomes many of the barriers present in current technologies, and at first glance, it may seem like a premium product,” said Umear Naseem, CEO of Aplex Bio. “To some extent, that’s true – but when we’re talking high-volume applications, the scaling factors are completely disruptive. We’re not just delivering better performance; we’re enabling significantly more cost-effective analysis overall than even legacy PCR.”
Customers have found the workflow simple and user-friendly. Labs can process up to four 384-well plates per day – each sample with 100-plex capability.
“Optimized protocols for liquid-handling robots will be released later this year, allowing users to fully automate the assay in their own labs,” Naseem said. “In the next 1-2 years, we plan to launch integrated systems combining liquid handling and imaging to serve high-throughput clinical environments.”
Validation and Real-World Use Cases
Aplex Bio was founded in 2020 with the involvement of Professor Mats Nilsson, a scientific advisor and board member of the company, known for pioneering padlock probes and co-founding several biotech companies, including Olink and Cartana. After beta testing with customers in 2024, the platform is now fully commercially available.
“I’m truly impressed by the innovation and rigorous development the Aplex team has achieved,” said Professor Mats Nilsson. “For over two decades, my lab has developed molecular tools like padlock probes to enable highly specific genetic analysis – but multiplexing the read-out has always been a limiting factor. The Hyperplex and Nanopixel technologies finally unlock that potential, allowing scalable, high-plex analysis without sacrificing sensitivity or specificity. Seeing this level of performance realized is incredibly rewarding.”
The technology has already been adopted in multiple application areas where some publicly announced examples include:
At the International Society for Forensic Genetics, researchers Johannes Hedman and Maja Sidstedt from the Swedish National Forensic Centre (NFC) presented their evaluation of Hyperplex PCR™ and its application in identifying cell types within complex forensic samples. The method is now being further tested by NFC in collaboration with the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI).
In collaboration with the Swedish Environmental Epidemiology Centre, a publication in Water Research demonstrated year-long SARS-CoV-2 variant tracking in wastewater, benchmarking against NGS and qPCR. The collaboration has since expanded to include a broader integrated respiratory surveillance panel, with data supplied to the Swedish Public Health Agency.
At the University of Gothenburg, researchers used Hyperplex PCR™ for crop gene expression analysis to improve resilience to drought and salinity. Results showed strong concordance with qPCR and will be featured in Methods in Molecular Biology (Springer Nature).
“I’m proud to see early customers using our platform across diverse fields – from environmental monitoring and pathogen detection to forensics, agrigenomics, food safety, cancer research, and diagnostics, and we are only getting started” Naseem said. “But it took time and rigorous validation to get here. The higher our performance claims, the more stringent the data demands. Reproducibility and quality had to be rock solid.”
A Paradigm Shift in Multiplexing
As outlined in the white paper, the platform’s high multiplex capacity enables the inclusion of multiple internal controls within each reaction – helping normalize variation both within and between runs.
“With built-in controls, there’s less reliance on a system being ‘absolute.’ Variations can be measured and corrected in real time,” Naseem explained. “And best of all, these controls are in addition to the 100-plex – so in practice, it’s really 100+n plex.”
To demonstrate the feasibility of 100-plex applications, Aplex Bio has developed a 100-plex Human ID assay, which served as the basis for the white paper’s benchmark data. This assay will soon be launched commercially.
Rising Competition in the dPCR Space
The digital PCR market is rapidly evolving, with Bio-Rad’s $275 million acquisition of Stilla Technologies highlighting how established players are repositioning to stay competitive. The industry is racing to increase multiplexing capabilities and reduce instrument complexity, while facing growing competition from dPCR offerings by Qiagen, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Roche.
“To our knowledge, we’re well ahead of the game with the first-ever 100-plex PCR technology,” Naseem said. “This marks a paradigm shift beyond dPCR. We’ll be offering custom-validated panels through our Panel Foundry, a dedicated platform for the design, validation, and delivery of custom panels, while also building a growing catalog of off-the-shelf panels for high-impact applications.”
Access the White Paper
To explore the full technical details and benchmark data, download the white paper Multiplex unleashed with Hyperplex PCR™: Validating the 100-Plex Breakthrough at www.aplex.bio/100-plex.
About Aplex Bio
Aplex Bio, a Swedish start-up company founded in 2020, is developing and commercializing a next-generation Hyperplex PCR™ technology enabling analysis of 100+ target in a single tube. The technology enables applications from research to in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) and precision diagnostics. Aplex Bio is based in Stockholm at the Karolinska Institute (KI) campus and is part of KI Innovations.