Anglo/Australian tie-up in Alzheimer’s diagnostics

Collaboration agreed

Senexis Ltd of Cambridge, UK, and Alzhyme Pty Ltd, of Perth, Australia, have agreed to collaborate on the development of a new diagnostic test for the potential early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mark Treherne, Senexis’ Chief Executive, said “We are pleased to be collaborating with Alzhyme. In spite of the attention Alzheimer’s disease receives, there is a significant medical need for the early detection of the condition. We now look forward to being able to accelerate the development of a novel Alzheimer’s diagnostic test.”

Greg Thomas, Alzhyme’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We believe our combined expertise should give us a competitive advantage in taking these innovative tests forward.”

The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to double over the next two decades. Currently, five million people in the US are affected by the disease. The pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease begin years before clinical symptoms are observed.

Yet despite Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form of dementia, there is no test to diagnose the disease in its early stages. Early diagnosis would provide the best chance for drug and other interventions to treat or slow the progression of the disease before significant brain damage and memory loss occurs.

The aim of the Senexis–Alzhyme collaboration is to develop a reliable, low-cost diagnostic test kit for the routine detection of disease biomarkers in the blood.