Last year a study on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University that found 96% of former NFL players tested had evidence of the degenerative brain disease, with 79% of all football players tested — who played at all levels — showing signs of the disease. The weeks and months after this study and the lead up to the Concussion movie (starring Will Smith) fueled a very heated conversation amongst celebrities, the industry and the media at large. Quanterix, a Boston-based company completely transforming healthcare with its ultrasensitive single molecule testing capabilities, launched a significant upgrade to its Simoa instrument and, on the heels of winning the second round of the GE and NFL’s Head Health Challenge I grant, saw an opportunity to not only continue the conversation but offer insights into how their technology can fuel early detection through a simple blood test.

In a concussion awareness campaign to raise the CEO’s profile, Kevin Hrusovsky was positioned at the helm of the concussion detection and awareness conversation. With their increased national visibility, Quanterix built up the momentum needed in the investment community to secure funding to develop a portable version of Quanterix’ Simoa technology for use on the sidelines of sports stadiums worldwide. Continuing their visibility, they secured interviews and media placements in the channels that mattered most, including the following print and broadcast outlets: Good Morning America, Forbes, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, PBS Frontline, Reuters, NFL Next, Vice and many more.

The PAN team has been a fan of Quanterix for quite some time and we couldn’t be more excited to award them with this month’s client spotlight!