MagQu CEO Charles S.Y. Yang Featured in PharmaBoardroom
August 2026
MagQu CEO Dr. Charles S.Y. Yang was recently featured in an exclusive interview with PharmaBoardroom, sharing the story behind MagQu’s development of ImmunoMagnetic Reduction (IMR) technology and the company’s vision for advancing blood-based biomarker detection for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
In the interview, Dr. Yang discusses how his background in physics, magnetic nanoparticles, and quantum sensing led to the development of an ultra-sensitive approach for measuring extremely low concentrations of disease-associated biomarkers in blood. He also shares MagQu’s journey from scientific innovation to commercialization, international collaboration, and expanding applications in neurodegenerative disease research.
From Quantum Sensing to Alzheimer’s Blood Biomarkers
One of the major challenges in Alzheimer’s disease research has been measuring disease-associated biomarkers in blood at extremely low concentrations.
MagQu developed ImmunoMagnetic Reduction (IMR) to address this analytical challenge. The technology combines antibody-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles with highly sensitive magnetic sensing to quantify biomarkers at very low concentrations.
Unlike conventional heterogeneous immunoassays, IMR is a homogeneous, single-antibody assay. When magnetic nanoparticles bind to their target biomarker, the magnetic response of the reagent changes. This change can be precisely measured and converted into biomarker concentration.
The platform has been developed to measure a growing portfolio of plasma biomarkers associated with neurodegenerative diseases, including amyloid beta (Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42), total Tau, p-Tau181, p-Tau217, α-synuclein, TDP-43, NfL, GFAP, UCH-L1, and BDNF.
Blood-Based Biomarkers Are Reshaping Alzheimer’s Research
Blood-based biomarkers have become one of the most rapidly advancing areas of Alzheimer’s disease research.
Recent studies have increasingly focused on plasma biomarkers such as phosphorylated Tau, particularly p-Tau217, amyloid-beta ratios, GFAP, and NfL for identifying Alzheimer’s-related pathology, supporting research participant screening, evaluating disease progression, and potentially reducing reliance on more invasive or resource-intensive approaches.
This shift is particularly important because traditional Alzheimer’s disease assessment may involve cognitive evaluation, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, MRI, or PET imaging. Blood sampling offers the potential for a more accessible and scalable approach to biomarker measurement.
As Alzheimer’s therapies and clinical trials continue to evolve, accurate blood biomarker measurement may also play an increasingly important role in identifying appropriate research populations and monitoring biological changes over time.
This rapidly evolving field closely aligns with MagQu’s long-term focus on ultra-sensitive plasma biomarker measurement.
The IMR Approach to Ultra-Sensitive Biomarker Detection
IMR was designed around a fundamental analytical challenge: many neurological biomarkers are present in blood at concentrations substantially lower than in cerebrospinal fluid.
MagQu’s IMR technology uses antibody-coated magnetic nanoparticles and highly sensitive magnetic detection to measure these low-concentration targets. The technology has demonstrated detection capabilities reaching the fg/mL range for multiple neurodegenerative disease-associated biomarkers.
MagQu has been developing and clinically studying IMR-based plasma biomarker assays for more than a decade. Research involving IMR has explored relationships between plasma biomarkers and established measures of Alzheimer’s pathology and neurodegeneration, including amyloid PET, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, brain imaging, cognitive status, and neuropathology.
The growing body of research supports continued investigation into how blood biomarkers can contribute to earlier and more accessible assessment of neurodegenerative disease.
Beyond Alzheimer’s Disease
The potential applications of ultra-sensitive blood biomarker detection extend beyond Alzheimer’s disease.
Neurodegenerative diseases often involve overlapping clinical symptoms but different underlying pathological processes. Biomarkers associated with amyloid pathology, Tau pathology, α-synuclein, TDP-43, neuronal injury, and glial activation may provide researchers with complementary biological information.
MagQu’s biomarker portfolio therefore extends across research areas involving Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and other neurodegenerative conditions.
This multi-biomarker approach also creates opportunities for collaboration with academic researchers, clinical laboratories, and pharmaceutical companies investigating new approaches to disease characterization, patient stratification, and treatment monitoring.
From Scientific Innovation to Global Collaboration
In the PharmaBoardroom interview, Dr. Yang also discusses MagQu’s transition from a physics-driven technology company into an international biotechnology and medical technology organization.
Today, MagQu works with researchers and partners across multiple markets while continuing to expand the scientific and clinical evidence supporting IMR technology.
The increasing global focus on Alzheimer’s blood tests and blood-based biomarkers represents an important opportunity for technologies capable of reliably measuring extremely low biomarker concentrations.
For MagQu, the goal extends beyond developing a sensitive analytical platform. The broader vision is to make high-quality biomarker measurement more accessible to researchers, clinicians, pharmaceutical developers, and ultimately the people who may benefit from advances in brain health.
Read the Full PharmaBoardroom Interview
In the full interview, Dr. Charles S.Y. Yang discusses the origins of MagQu, the science behind ImmunoMagnetic Reduction, the evolution of Alzheimer’s blood biomarker testing, pharmaceutical research applications, regulatory progress, and MagQu’s international growth strategy.
Read the full interview:
Charles S.Y. Yang, CEO, MagQu | PharmaBoardroom