We are pleased to announce that our European subsidiary company, NeoNeuro has recently succeeded with a pre-clinical trial of their blood test for brain amyloid with the collaboration of the Centro Hospitalar de Entre o Douro e Vouga, in Santa Maria da Fiera, Portugal. This pre-clinical trial was financed by Roche Diagnostics. The blood test involves the application of eight different aptamers (Aptamarkers) to a plasma sample, the amount of each Aptamarker bound to its corresponding target is quantified by qPCR analysis. The qPCR data along with the age of the patients is analyzed with ExtraTrees model developed by machine learning at NeoNeuro. The test was developed with the financial support of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, with 391 samples from the AIBL cohort in Australia. The pre-clinical trial resulted in the same 75% overall accuracy for the prediction of brain amyloid that the initial study reported.
NeoNeuro intends to continue to move this test towards regulatory approval in Europe (CE Mark) over the next year. This test represents another aptamer-based platform that is nearing diagnostic regulatory approval. The results validate several key aspects of the NeoNeuro Aptamarker platform:
- The use of the same 4.29 billion sequences for the screening of blood samples from individuals that vary for a phenotype.
- The validity of a qPCR test for aptamer binding quantification.
- The robustness of an aptamer-based test in a biological matrix.
The NeoNeuro Aptamarker test boasts a noteworthy Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of 81% in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, emphasizing its significance as a valuable tool for accurate detection.
Parties interested in learning more about this test, and being involved in additional pre-clinical and clinical trials should contact us at info@neoneuro-aptamers.com.
Dr. Gregory Penner academic training was a blend of very practical plant breeding theory combined with molecular biology. He has used this blend of biology and mathematics to first develop and lead a cereal biotechnology research team with the government of Canada and subsequently as a global research leader with Monsanto Inc. He has been a thought leader in aptamer development globally for the last twenty years as CEO and President of NeoVentures. He has led this company to financial stability without outside investment with an integrated approach to aptamer discovery and commercialization. In 2015, he co- founded a second company, NeoNeuro in Paris France, focused on an innovative approach to identify Aptamarkers for complex diseases.
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