2025 was a year of balance for the proteomics industry, characterized by the continued rise of multiomic convergence alongside advancements in fundamental discovery tools. While the integration of proteomic data with genomics has accelerated the path toward precision medicine, the year's innovations, from population-scale sequencing to single-cell sensitivity, prove that the discovery phase is far from over. The market has expanded its focus: it now prioritizes biological context and integrated workflows while still pursuing deeper coverage. This maturation is evident in an investment landscape that supported both forward-looking multiomic solutions and established, high-volume clinical diagnostics.

Among the hundreds of partnerships and deals in the proteomics space in 2025, here are more details on a select few that stood out to us:

Top News Stories of 2025

Strategic M&A: The Multiomics Mandate

The primary driver for major acquisitions in 2025 was the integration of complementary data modalities (NGS, spatial, and fluidic markers) into unified workflows. Sebia is a notable exception, focusing on specialized clinical scale.

1. Illumina Acquires SomaLogic ($425M)
Illumina acquired the aptamer-based proteomics pioneer SomaLogic for up to $425 million, formally bringing the technology in-house and fully integrating the Illumina Protein Prep assay into the NovaSeq workflow. By bundling proteomics as a direct readout on existing sequencers, Illumina defends its core business while offering researchers a simultaneous view of genetic risk and functional protein expression without requiring separate instrumentation.

2. Quanterix Acquires Akoya Biosciences ($286M)
Quanterix merged with Akoya Biosciences in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $286 million, creating a "Tissue-to-Liquid" multiomic workflow that combines ultra-sensitive fluid biomarkers with spatial biology. This integration allows pharmaceutical partners to discover spatially defined biomarkers in tissue biopsies using Akoya’s platforms and ideally transition those targets to Quanterix’s Simoa assays for non-invasive patient monitoring in blood. This workflow could effectively bridges gaps between spatial discovery and clinical trial utility. However, realizing the full potential of this merger will heavily depend on platform intergration and customer messaging to ensure end users fully grasp the technical and clinical synergies of the combined platforms.

3. Waters Corp. and BD Combine to Create Diagnostics Entity ($17.5B)
In a massive $17.5 billion Reverse Morris Trust transaction, Waters Corporation combined with BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business to create a multi-modal diagnostic giant. By uniting mass spectrometry (molecular analysis) with flow cytometry (cellular analysis), the new entity provides a comprehensive suite for regulated clinical testing. This strategic combination targets hospital labs and CROs, moving to high-volume diagnostics.

4. Sebia Partners with Warburg Pincus for Expansion (~€5.5B Valuation)
Private equity firm Warburg Pincus acquired a significant stake in Sebia, valuing the global leader in capillary electrophoresis at approximately €5.5 billion. Unlike the multiomic deals above, this is a pure play on clinical scale, as Sebia is a premier player in the myeloma monitoring (M-proteins) market. This demonstrates how investors still prioritize traditional proteomics tools, which cater to high-volume, niche markets. The funding is expected to drive Sebia's expansion into new therapeutic areas.
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Clinical Utility & Regulatory Milestones

Proteomics moved further beyond the research lab in 2025, achieving key regulatory approvals that directly impact patient care.‍

5. Fujirebio Launches First Proteomics CDx for Alzheimer’s
Fujirebio received FDA clearance for its Lumipulse G pTau 217/β-Amyloid plasma test, marking the first proteomics-based aid in diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease. This approval serves as a critical triage tool, significantly reducing the reliance on expensive PET scans or invasive spinal taps to identify patients with likely amyloid pathology. By acting as a scalable identifier for early detection, this test establishes blood-based biomarkers as a routine, frontline component of care in neurodegeneration.

6. Thermo Fisher EXENT System Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance
The FDA granted clearance to Thermo Fisher’s EXENT system, an automated mass spectrometry analyzer for Multiple Myeloma. This approval validates mass spectrometry as a routine clinical analyzer, positioning it to replace older electrophoresis techniques in high-throughput clinical labs. By automating the workflow, reducing subjective interpretation, and providing higher sensitivity than traditional methods, Thermo Fisher is supporting a framework for monitoring patients with plasma cell disorders.

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Spatial Biology & Multiomic Innovation

Technological advancements focused on breaking down silos between RNA, protein, and tissue context.

7. Bruker Upgrades Spatial Biology Portfolio with Multiomic Capabilities
Bruker updated its CosMx and GeoMx platforms to enable "same-slide" multiomics, pushing the boundaries of spatial profiling. The new GeoMx protein assay now supports up to 1,000-plex profiling, while CosMx 2.0 enables the simultaneous detection of whole transcriptomics and up to 76 proteins at subcellular resolution. This capacity allows for direct multiomic correlation at the single-cell level, enabling researchers to validate whether gene expression (RNA) translates to functional protein presence within the exact same cell.

8. 10x Genomics Launches Xenium Protein Platform
10x Genomics released Xenium Protein, adding protein detection to its existing spatial transcriptomics platform. This launch enables the simultaneous detection of RNA and dozens of validated protein targets (up to 64 in advanced configurations) on the same tissue slide. This reflects the growing customer demand for integrated multiomics. By layering protein data, researchers can better visualize cell-cell interactions and immune cell phenotypes that are defined by surface proteins, effectively closing the loop on the central dogma in spatial biology.
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Deep Discovery & Population-Scale Proteomics

New tools and projects pushed the boundaries of sensitivity and scale, enabling deep analysis of vast biobanks.‍

9. Thermo Fisher’s Olink Selected for UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project
The UK Biobank selected Thermo Fisher’s Olink platform to analyze over 5,400 proteins across 600,000 samples, utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS) readouts to achieve unprecedented throughput. By linking this massive proteomic dataset with existing genomic records, the project creates a pre-competitive resource that can advance drug target validation. This initiative demonstrates that proteomics is increasingly scaling to meet the needs of national biobanks and large-scale epidemiology.

10. Sapient Launches High-Depth FFPE Proteomics Platform
Sapient released a mass spectrometry workflow capable of quantifying over 10,000 protein groups directly from archival FFPE tissue. This technology unlocks the retrospective value of clinical trial biobanks, allowing pharmaceutical companies to analyze historical patient samples, which were previously considered difficult due to chemical cross-linking. This capability enables the identification of protein biomarkers associated with clinical outcomes, potentially rescuing failed trials or refining patient selection without the need for new prospective studies.

11. Seer & Korea University Partner for 20,000-Sample Study
Seer and Korea University initiated a study to profile 20,000 samples using the Proteograph ONE assay for AI-driven diagnostics. While targeted platforms leverage NGS for speed, this project validates nanoparticle enrichment as a scalable enhancement to traditional mass spectrometry. It demonstrates that deep, unbiased "discovery-mode" plasma proteomics can be performed at a population scale, overcoming the dynamic range limitations that typically restrict mass spec to smaller cohorts.
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12. Bruker Launches timsTOF Ultra AIP for Single-Cell Sensitivity
Bruker released the "Athena Ion Processor" (AIP) to enhance the sensitivity of its timsTOF mass spectrometry systems. This hardware update aims to advance single-cell proteomics, reportedly identifying >5,000 proteins from 250 pg of input material (roughly equivalent to a single cell). By improving ion transmission, it enables researchers to profile proteins in low-input samples like fine-needle biopsies, potentially extending the application of mass spectrometry to smaller sample types.

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