July 17, 2026

The challenge: Hyperplex data eliminates inter-slide variability, but introduces it's own challenges

By reading dozens of markers from a single slide, spatial biology approaches minimize tissue use and remove slide-to-slide variability. But it comes with its own challenges: huge data volumes, and the requirement for stringent phenotyping consistency and analytical rigor to make accurate, actionable conclusions.

The platform: Built on the COMET

How the COMET works: an integrated staining and scanning system analyzing up to 40 markers on a single slide through iterative stain-image-elute cycles, built for the standardized, documented protocols clinical trial contexts demand.

The assay was developed and validated for accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and cross-site concordance between CellCarta's labs in Lake Forest, California and Antwerp, Belgium.

The study: Complete responder vs non-responder dataset

In a 20-plex hyperplex analysis of tissue samples from patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with neo-adjuvant immunotherapy, CellCarta's clinical-grade COMET workflow highlighted distinct differences in immune composition, spatial proximity, and tissue organization between an immunotherapy responder and a non-responder, all from a single slide per patient.

1. Phenotype composition how immune, stromal, and tumor proportions differed between the two cases
2. Spatial distance, co-localization and niche analysis
3. What it means for IO programs how tissue organization, not just cell counts, reflects response
4. How we build global assays for comparable results, regardless of data collection location
5. The clinical-grade, platform agnostic workflow that turns hyperplex image data into reliable, interpretable biological findings

From early-stage biotechs to established biopharma, understanding why some patients respond better than others is essential.

July 17, 2026

The challenge: Hyperplex data eliminates inter-slide variability, but introduces it's own challenges

By reading dozens of markers from a single slide, spatial biology approaches minimize tissue use and remove slide-to-slide variability. But it comes with its own challenges: huge data volumes, and the requirement for stringent phenotyping consistency and analytical rigor to make accurate, actionable conclusions.

The platform: Built on the COMET

How the COMET works: an integrated staining and scanning system analyzing up to 40 markers on a single slide through iterative stain-image-elute cycles, built for the standardized, documented protocols clinical trial contexts demand.

The assay was developed and validated for accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and cross-site concordance between CellCarta's labs in Lake Forest, California and Antwerp, Belgium.

The study: Complete responder vs non-responder dataset

In a 20-plex hyperplex analysis of tissue samples from patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with neo-adjuvant immunotherapy, CellCarta's clinical-grade COMET workflow highlighted distinct differences in immune composition, spatial proximity, and tissue organization between an immunotherapy responder and a non-responder, all from a single slide per patient.

1. Phenotype composition how immune, stromal, and tumor proportions differed between the two cases
2. Spatial distance, co-localization and niche analysis
3. What it means for IO programs how tissue organization, not just cell counts, reflects response
4. How we build global assays for comparable results, regardless of data collection location
5. The clinical-grade, platform agnostic workflow that turns hyperplex image data into reliable, interpretable biological findings

From early-stage biotechs to established biopharma, understanding why some patients respond better than others is essential.