# MARAbio

> MARAbio is a Salt Lake City precision-immunology company that built the first-ever blood test to identify Maternal Autoantibody Related Autism (MARA), a biological subtype of autism caused by a mother's own IgG autoantibodies crossing the placenta and binding fetal brain proteins. Founded on more than two decades of research by Dr. Judy Van de Water at the UC Davis MIND Institute, the company's MAR-Autism test screens mothers for specific autoantibody combinations linked to autism risk, and the company is now extending the science toward therapeutics that could neutralize those antibodies before they reach a developing brain.

- **Founded:** 2016
- **Headquarters:** Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- **Founders:** Judy Van de Water, PhD (Founder & Chief Science Advisor), Michael S. Paul, PhD (CEO & President), E. Robert Wassman, MD (Chief Medical Officer / EVP Clinical Affairs)
- **Team size:** ~20 employees
- **Products:** MAR-Autism Test, MARA therapeutics (pipeline)
- **Notable:** Built the first-ever blood test to identify Maternal Autoantibody Related Autism (MARA), Secured exclusive rights to two decades of UC Davis MIND Institute research, Raised a $19M initial Series A led by MAK Capital (Oct 2024)

## Products & services

- **MAR-Autism Test** — An indirect multi-ELISA blood test administered to the mother that detects specific combinations of maternal IgG autoantibodies against eight fetal-brain proteins (CRMP1, CRMP2, GDA, NSE, LDHA, LDHB, STIP1, YBX1) associated with a biological subtype of autism. Ordered through healthcare providers, sample collected at home or in office, results in roughly 14 days.
- **MARA therapeutics (pipeline)** — Early-stage development of antibody-neutralizing interventions intended to prevent the MARA subtype of autism by blocking maternal autoantibodies from reaching the developing fetal brain.

## Achievements

- Built the first-ever blood test to identify Maternal Autoantibody Related Autism (MARA)
- Secured exclusive rights to two decades of UC Davis MIND Institute research
- Raised a $19M initial Series A led by MAK Capital (Oct 2024)
- Commercially launched the MAR-Autism test in December 2025
- Identified specific autoantibody combinations with specificity of 99% or higher

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Announced $19M initial Series A round led by MAK Capital One to bring the autism blood test to market.
- **2025-12** — Commercially launched the MAR-Autism test, billed as the first-ever blood test for Maternal Autoantibody Related Autism.
- **2026-02** — Posted a medRxiv preprint on the analytical validation of the MAR-Autism ELISA assay.

## Links

- Website: https://www.marabio.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marabio-inc
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marabiosystems
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MARAbiosystems

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marabio
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-13