- Vega instrument combines ultra-high-throughput, data quality, and assay flexibility for both traditional and AI-based drug discovery
- Enables primary screening with high-resolution binding
- First order and shipment slated for Q1 will be to a KOL at a top 10 pharma
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Carterra Inc., the leading provider of technologies enabling high-throughput biology, today announced the launch of the Carterra Vega™ High-Throughput Surface Plasmon Resonance (HT-SPR) instrument. The industry’s first 48-channel SPR platform, Vega delivers 12-fold higher throughput versus the market leading system for small molecule through large molecule discovery and development workflows.
In the past, due to the lower throughput of traditional SPR platforms, researchers had to sacrifice resolution for speed, relegating SPR to secondary screening roles. That sacrifice is no longer necessary. Vega opens a new era, enabling the primary screening of large libraries with high-resolution binding.
Vega’s initial software configurations can screen more than 20,000 small molecule interactions per day, compared to a few thousand per day with current SPR systems. The Carterra Vega flow cell format includes an internal reference and two binding locations in every channel, allowing researchers to run the broadest range of label-free SPR applications currently available. Its speed, automation, and minimal sample consumption expand workflow flexibility across multiple applications and assay formats without operator intervention. With the optional robotic module, the instrument can operate unattended for days, further increasing throughput and efficiency.
Carterra’s Vega platform comes at a time when there is a pressing need for highly parallel analysis of molecular interactions. AI-based drug discovery is now a part of most pharmaceutical and biotech discovery workflows. Carterra’s platforms, and now Vega in particular, enable investigators to train their algorithms from high-resolution data sets scaled to unprecedented size. There are no other label-free technologies that enable AI drug discovery at this scale.
Carterra’s HT-SPR portfolio has been adopted by all the top 20 largest pharmaceutical companies, major Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and biotechs worldwide. Vega is Carterra’s latest innovation, developed to bring together industry-leading sensitivity and throughput in one platform. Building on the enhanced optics, advanced microfluidics and thermal control of the Carterra Ultra® system launched in 2024, the Carterra Vega addresses a long-standing need among drug discovery scientists for parallel SPR measurements across a substantially higher number of channels.
The process for putting Vega through its paces was conducted by Carterra scientists side-by-side with four Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) comprised of three of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and one of the largest CROs. Both large and small molecule applications were optimized on the platform netting two application notes that are available now. Carterra is preparing to ship the first Vega purchase in Q1 of this year to one of the pharma KOLs who will be bringing it online immediately to speed small molecule discovery.
Josh Eckman, Co-Founder and CEO at Carterra says, “One of the greatest challenges scientists face is time: the time required to screen large libraries of small molecules and fragments to find a promising lead. This process has been limited by the capabilities of legacy SPR systems. From working closely with researchers, we understand this is a significant frustration.”
“The Carterra Vega platform is a technological leap forward—a true step change. Faster hit discovery with 48 parallel channels means a quicker route to viable clinical candidates. Vega is the only platform of its kind, opening new possibilities for early discovery teams to reshape workflows and accelerate pipelines,” he added.
The Vega platform is launching at Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) Conference and Exhibition, February 7-11th 2026, in Boston, MA, Booth #1138.
For additional information, please visit https://carterra-bio.com/carterra-vega/
For a high-resolution image, please contact Cheri Salazar.
Media Contact
Cheri Salazar
Carterra
Tel: +1 (408) 594-9400
Email: csalazar@carterra-bio.com
About Carterra, Inc.
Carterra® is a leading provider of innovative technologies designed to accelerate the discovery of novel therapeutic candidates. Since the Company’s first product launch in 2018, its Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) platforms have been adopted by all top 20 pharmaceutical companies, major CROs, and leading biotechs across the world.
Carterra’s high throughput LSA, LSAXT, Ultra, and Vega platforms transform label-free characterization workflows, enabling screening and characterization for both large and small molecules in a single step. The instruments combine patented microfluidics technology with real-time High-Throughput SPR (HT-SPR) and industry-leading analysis and visualization software – delivering up to 100 times the throughput in 10% of the time, while using only 1% of the sample compared to existing label-free platforms.
Carterra’s innovations have been featured in multiple Science, Nature, and Cell publications, including research documenting the development of bamlanivimab—the first therapeutic for COVID-19 and the fastest biologic ever to enter clinical trials, enabled through the efforts of Eli Lilly and AbCellera. More than a dozen of Carterra’s customers have identified clinical candidates rapidly utilizing HT-SPR technology.
Carterra, Inc. is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has Customer Experience Centers in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Boston, Manchester (England), and Munich (Germany). Carterra products are available in Asia-Pacific and Oceania through our exclusive distributor, Revvity.
For additional information, please visit www.carterra-bio.com.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/15b9cda3-65c7-4c0f-95e7-d76047c0a09d
