Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Olink Platform Selected for World’s Largest Human Proteome Study

UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project aims to create a comprehensive map of disease-associated protein levels in the human body to advance biomarker discovery

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project (UKB-PPP) has selected its Olink^® Explore Platform to support the world’s largest human proteomics study of its kind. UKB-PPP aims to analyze more than 5,400 proteins from 600,000 samples to fuel the discovery of new protein biomarkers that can be used to predict, diagnose and treat diseases.

“Studies on the human proteome are having a profound impact on our customers’ fundamental understanding of disease and the advancement of life sciences research,” said Marc N. Casper, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher. “The unprecedented scale of this project, with support from our next-generation proteomics solution, underscores the potential to deepen their knowledge and develop new applications to improve human health.”

Advancement of the Olink Explore Platform, which is designed to enable deep analysis of the thousands of proteins in the human body, provides researchers with the ability to study the role they play in many types of diseases. Published studies in this emerging field, known as population proteomics, have demonstrated the potential protein signatures have to help advance the future of precision medicine.

“Proteomics provides an incredibly detailed snapshot of health. This new frontier of science can unveil how genetics and external factors – like diet, exercise and climate – interact, and will help to pinpoint the key causes of diseases and identify drug targets,” said Professor Naomi Allen, chief scientist of UK Biobank. “It has already led to important scientific discoveries, such as identifying proteins that can help to diagnose disease – including multiple sclerosis - and helping to identify those at higher risk of developing dementia and cancer many years before clinical diagnosis. Over 19,000 researchers around the world are using UK Biobank data; adding proteomic data to everything else we hold will enable scientists to make rapid discoveries to help diagnose and treat life-altering diseases.”

UKB-PPP is a collaboration between UK Biobank and 14 leading biopharmaceutical companies, with the goal to make available important information on the human proteome to UK Biobank-approved researchers across the world. In turn, the data can be used to validate and identify new drug targets, advance diagnostics, and help accelerate targeted drug discovery to support the development of more effective and safer medications.

“UKB-PPP brings together scientists from the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies with the most advanced research technologies,” said Chris Whelan, Ph.D., chair and principal investigator of UKB-PPP. “Success for projects of this size depends on having partners with the ability to scale reliably and effectively. We are excited to once again have Thermo Fisher’s Olink platform as the supporting proteomics technology to drive this study.”

UKB-PPP builds on the findings released in 2023 from the pilot project, which also leveraged the Olink Explore platform to analyze more than 54,000 samples from UK Biobank. The research was first published in Nature in October 2023 and has already been cited more than 400 times, laying the foundation for scientists to better understand how and why diseases develop and to advance targeted treatments. One study, published in Nature Communications, leveraged data from the pilot study to identify protein risk factors for certain cancers up to seven years in advance of diagnosis.

UKB-PPP is scheduled to begin in Q1 2025, with plans to make the proteomic data available to UK Biobank-approved researchers in staggered releases starting in 2026, followed by the full dataset in 2027. UKB-PPP will initially analyze more than 5,400 proteins from 300,000 samples and seek supplemental funding to analyze an additional 300,000 samples, bringing the total for the project to 600,000 samples.

Acquired by Thermo Fisher in July 2024, the Olink proteomics platform is a next generation proteomics solution that empowers researchers to measure more than 5,400 proteins with high specificity, speed, and the flexibility to study complex biological processes.

To learn more about the Olink Platform, please visit www.thermofisher.com/olink

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.