At the Society for Lab Automation and Screening (SLAS) 2026, Carterra introduced its latest surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system, the Carterra Vega High-Throughput Surface Plasmon Resonance (HT-SPR) instrument. The system will expand the company’s presence into primary screening, one of the first stages of drug discovery, in addition to secondary screening, where SPR has traditionally been used due to its lack of speed. “The perception [of SPR] 10 years ago: extremely informative, very sensitive, very elegant and very slow,” said Tim Germann, Carterra’s Chief Commercial Officer.

SPR utilizes label-free binding of ligands and analytes to study biophysical interactions, such as protein-protein binding or nucleic acid-protein binding, in real time. For drug discovery, this provides insight into how a drug candidate interacts with a target, such as measurements of the strength and duration of the bond. This is accomplished through studies, for example, of binding kinetics and the rate at which molecular interactions occur.

Most SPR systems work by moving an analyte in flow horizontally across a biosensor chip on which target molecules are immobilized. The refractive index of the light hitting the chip and bouncing off the sensor’s metal substrate results in a binding measurement. Unlike other SPR systems that use printing or spotting to deposit fixed volumes, Carterra’s continuous flow technology builds arrays on the sensor by bringing the samples—ligands or analytes—vertically to the chip surface.

As Mr. Germann told IBO, unlike other SPR systems where the sample flows horizontally across biosensors, “We bring the sample vertically to the sensor surface, and then we cycle it back and forth…[I]f samples flow horizontally and the flow rate is too fast, you might miss the binding event,” he explained. “With our device, because of the bi-directional flow, we don’t consume the sample. It stays in constant contact with the surface.” A common sample amount required for Vega and other Carterra systems is 200 µL, but smaller volumes are possible depending on the application.

“We are continuing to optimize the assay formats and workflows so at launch, we have conservatively said 20,000 interactions per day, already 10 times the current technologies.”

A key differentiator of the newly introduced Vega from other SPR systems is the system’s speed and throughput, according to Mr. Germann. Vega employs 48 channels, in contrast to most multi-channel SPR systems that have only eight channels. Along with two ligand spots per channel and a reference, 48 channels provide Vega with the ability to screen over 20,000 analytes per day for small molecules. This compares to just a few thousand per day for other SPR systems, according to Carterra.

Vega marks a breakthrough for the company’s technology, stated Mr. Germann. “The first three Carterra platforms—LSA, LSA XT and Ultra—all have single-needle analyte injections paired with a multichannel printhead, which deliver either 48 or 96 samples to the chip surface simultaneously, creating nested arrays of either 192 or 384 ligands per array. Vega, by contrast, has 48 channels to deliver analyte injections to either one or two targets in each channel, along with a reference,” he explained. Like Ultra, Vega can measure molecules down to 100 Da in size.

And Vega’s throughput could increase, according to Mr. Germann. “The physical limitation of the hardware, including the integrated robot, will allow for more than 40,000 interactions per day. These would mostly be fast on- and off-rate interactions, typical of small molecules. Current throughput is already much more than other technologies,” he said. “We are continuing to optimize the assay formats and workflows so at launch, we have conservatively said 20,000 interactions per day, already 10 times the current technologies. The Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) that engaged in beta testing the platform (three of the largest 15 pharma in the world) reported that doing just 10,000 a day would be game changing.”

“Vega is decidedly in the screening space, particularly for small molecules. It can detect the smallest of molecules with precision down to 100 Da.”

Vega also accommodates smaller-sized molecules, such as drug fragments, for which screening has demonstrated greater efficiency. Mr. Germann described Carterra’s three previous instruments as ideal for “large- and mid-molecule applications in the 300–1000 Da range,” he said. “Vega is decidedly in the screening space, particularly for small molecules. It can detect the smallest of molecules with precision down to 100 Da.”

Vega also accommodates binding assays for large molecules where screening times are slower. “Longer cycle times are typically required to obtain high-quality kinetic data, but Vega still enables thousands of large molecule analytes per day, which is best-in-class throughput,” noted Mr. Germann. “By comparison, single-needle SPR instruments generally process only dozens of analytes per day.”

The chips that are used with Vega are similar to those used with other Carterra systems. “They are the same form factor and contain the same chemistries. What may differ is the number of either analytes or ligands in a particular assay, as those are determined by the instrument platform and user preference,” explained Mr. Gerrmann.

Carterra was spun out of the University of Utahin 2007 andcounts among its investors Pfizer, Revvity and Telegraph Hill Partners. It introduced its first product in 2018. The company has since grown to 70 employees. Manufacturing of critical subsystems and the biosensors and consumables is done at the company’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Final assembly of the instruments is outsourced to Paramit, a Tecan company.

Although industry demand was impacted by the slowdown in funding for early-stage biotech, the company has continued to grow by increasing its focus on the pharma market, including CROs. “The vast majority of our customers are biopharma. They’re large or small pharma or small biotechs,” said Mr. Gerrmann. “Academics and government represent an important but minority portion of our business.”

Carterra has already received purchase orders for the new instrument. The first Vega systems will ship this month. While the company does not publish its pricing for instruments or consumables, Carterra says that they are in line with other transformative, well-differentiated research tools.

This interview as part of IBO’s coverage of SLAS2026. For our full coverage of SLAS2026, subscribe to IBO today.