Araclon Biotech

What Araclon Biotech does

Araclon Biotech, S.L. is a Spain-based, privately held biotechnology company founded in 2004 as a spin-off from the University of Zaragoza and operating as a subsidiary of Grifols since 2012. The company specializes in the research, development, and commercialization of methods for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, with a secondary research effort in Parkinson's disease. Its headquarters and centralized laboratories are located at Vía Hispanidad 21, Zaragoza, and the firm employs between 11 and 50 people.

Araclon's product portfolio spans both diagnostics and therapeutics. On the diagnostic side, ABtest-IA is a colorimetric sandwich ELISA assay validated per EMA and FDA recommendations and CE marked in the EU, measuring free and total Aβ40 and Aβ42 levels in plasma; ABtest-MS is a patented liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay for simultaneous determination of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 from 250 microliters of plasma without enzymatic digestion or immuno-precipitation. On the therapeutic side, ABvac40 is an active vaccine targeting the C-terminal end of the Aβ40 peptide, designed as a preventive immunotherapeutic and currently positioned after Phase II clinical trials. The company also holds intellectual property extending into Parkinson's disease via a collaboration with CSIC.

Araclon generates revenue primarily through its ABtest-Service, a centralized laboratory offering providing standardized, automated plasma Aβ peptide analysis to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies conducting Alzheimer's clinical trials, academic research institutions, and to a lesser extent healthcare providers. The service is positioned as a cost-effective alternative to PET scans and CSF analysis, with documented reductions in screening failure rates and PET scan requirements. Marketing and customer acquisition are driven by peer-reviewed scientific publications, conference presentations (AAIC, CTAD, AD/PD), and direct outreach to clinical trial sponsors rather than mass-market channels.

Name

Araclon Biotech

Legal name

ARACLON BIOTECH, S.L.

Website

https://araclon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Araclon Biotech is a Spanish Grifols subsidiary developing plasma-based diagnostic assays (ABtest-IA, ABtest-MS) and an active vaccine (ABvac40) for early Alzheimer's disease detection and prevention, serving pharmaceutical clinical trial sponsors, academic researchers, and select healthcare providers via centralized lab services in Zaragoza.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostics

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Antibody Discovery & Engineering Platforms (display tech, bispecifics, Fc engineering) (HLAAAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

In Vivo Discovery & Translational Models Platforms (humanized models, PK/PD, efficacy) (HLAAAIAK)

Keywords

• Alzheimer's diagnostics
• Amyloid biomarker testing
• Plasma-based assays
• Neurodegenerative disease vaccines
• Clinical trial screening

Headquarters

HQ city

Zaragoza

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. ABtest-Service (Diagnostic Testing): Centralized laboratory service providing automated plasma analysis for Aβ40 and Aβ42 peptide determination. Service is performed under strictly standardized conditions by qualified personnel. Revenue generated through testing fees for pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and clinical trial operators.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Araclon Biotech develops and provides plasma-based diagnostic assays and centralized laboratory testing services for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease through quantification of Aβ40 and Aβ42 amyloid peptides, alongside an active immunotherapeutic vaccine (ABvac40) targeting Aβ40 for preventive treatment. Its commercial offering is anchored by ABtest-Service, a centralized lab operation in Zaragoza delivering standardized plasma analysis to pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and healthcare providers.

Product overview

Araclon Biotech operates as a product and service company specializing in early Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and prevention. The portfolio consists of diagnostic assays (ABtest-IA, ABtest-MS) and a therapeutic vaccine (ABvac40), offered alongside a centralized testing service (ABtest-Service). ABtest-IA is an ELISA-based plasma assay, while ABtest-MS uses mass spectrometry for amyloid quantification; both measure Aβ40 and Aβ42 peptides for disease detection. ABvac40 is an active vaccine targeting Aβ40 that has completed Phase II trials. ABtest-Service provides standardized automated analysis of plasma samples from centralized laboratories in Zaragoza, Spain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ABtest-IA: Colorimetric sandwich ELISA assay for determination of Aβ40 and Aβ42 in plasma, fully validated according to EMA and FDA recommendations and CE marked in the European Union.
• ABtest-MS
• ABvac40

Products and services

• ABtest-IA Colorimetric sandwich ELISA assay for determination of Aβ40 and Aβ42 amyloid peptide levels in plasma, requiring 300 microliters of plasma and fully validated according to EMA and FDA recommendations. CE marked in the European Union and Investigational Research Only (IUO) worldwide, with differentiated determination of free (FP40, FP42) and total (TP40, TP42) plasma peptide fractions. Designed for pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and healthcare providers conducting Alzheimer's disease research and clinical trial screening.
• ABtest-MS Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay for simultaneous determination of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 from 250 microliters of plasma, patented by Araclon Biotech. Does not require enzymatic digestion or immuno-precipitation, reducing turnaround time and costs, and is robust against interference from anti-Aβ antibodies and pre-analytical variations. Targets pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and clinical trial operators.
• ABtest-Service Automated plasma analysis service performed under strictly standardized conditions by highly qualified personnel at the company's centralized laboratories in Zaragoza, Spain, delivering reliable Aβ peptide determination results for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic research institutions, and healthcare providers.
• ABvac40 Active vaccine against the Aβ40 peptide for preventive treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, targeting the C-terminal end of the Aβ40 peptide. The target epitope is only recognized when the peptide is separated from the cell membrane, designed to prevent antigen-antibody complex formation on neurons and improve safety. Currently in Phase II clinical trials with demonstrated safety and tolerability.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pre-screening with ABtest reduces required PET scans by up to 60% in clinical trial recruitment
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CSIC (Spanish National Research Council)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement with CSIC research group for development of therapy for Parkinson's disease. The therapeutic target consists of promotion of dopaminergic differentiation of original brain cells. This collaboration has produced the company's first patent (RTC-2015-3439-1), for which Araclon holds exclusive license. Animal experiments are currently underway to analyze therapeutic potential.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• C2N Diagnostics: C2N Diagnostics commercializes the PrecivityAD blood-based amyloid test for Alzheimer's diagnosis, directly competing with Araclon's ABtest-IA and ABtest-MS assays in the same pharma trial and clinical screening use cases.
• Quanterix: Quanterix's Simoa single-molecule array platform is widely used for ultra-sensitive blood-based biomarker detection, including Alzheimer's amyloid and tau assays, positioning it as a direct technology competitor to ABtest-MS in pharma trial biomarker services.
• ADx NeuroSciences: ADx NeuroSciences develops and commercializes biomarker assays for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, serving major IVD partners and pharma sponsors in a directly comparable biomarker assay niche.

Broad incumbents

• Fujirebio (H.U. Group Holdings): Fujirebio offers the Lumipulse G pTau217/β-Amyloid 1-42 plasma assays and is a long-established leader in CSF-based Alzheimer's diagnostics, competing with Araclon across both CSF and emerging plasma assay markets.
• Roche Diagnostics: Roche offers the Elecsys Amyloid Plasma Panel (pTau217/Aβ42) on its widely installed cobas analyzer platform, leveraging global commercial reach to compete with Araclon's centralized ABtest-Service model.
• Eli Lilly: Eli Lilly markets Kisunla (donanemab) and is developing tau-based blood diagnostics to support Alzheimer's therapy commercialization, positioning it as a broad incumbent whose diagnostics strategy intersects with Araclon's screening value proposition.
• Biogen: Biogen co-markets Leqembi (lecanemab) with Eisai and is investing in blood-based diagnostics to identify treatment-eligible patients, creating competitive overlap with Araclon's screening thesis for Alzheimer's therapies.
• Prothena Corporation: Prothena develops immunotherapies targeting amyloid and tau protein misfolding in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, overlapping with Araclon's ABvac40 active vaccine strategy in the disease-modifying therapy category.

Emerging players

• Bio-Techne: Bio-Techne provides a broad menu of ELISA and protein biomarker assays, including neuroscience research tools, and is expanding into clinical-grade Alzheimer's diagnostics, overlapping with Araclon's ABtest-IA assay market.
• SomaLogic: SomaLogic's SomaScan proteomics platform measures thousands of proteins from small blood samples and is being applied to Alzheimer's biomarker discovery and clinical trial use, making it an emerging competitor to Araclon's blood-based biomarker approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/araclon-biotech-s-l-

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Araclon Biotech