USD 2 million by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation ...
In support of the MemoryLINC project “Validation of a Rapid Non-Invasive Diagnostic Test to Predict Mild-Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer's Disease”, Amoneta Diagnostics S.A.S. has been awarded up to of USD 2 million by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) Diagnostics Accelerator
Huningue, May 31st, 2019 – Amoneta Diagnostics SAS, an affiliate of the Firalis group of companies, today announced the receipt of an award of up to USD 2 million from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation’s (ADDF) Diagnostics Accelerator, a partnership of funders including ADDF Co-Founder Leonard Lauder, Bill Gates, Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos, the Dolby family, and the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, among others, to develop novel biomarkers for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The focus of the MemoryLINC program is to validate the clinical diagnostic performance of the best non-coding RNA panel that enables the diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The work is being performed jointly by Amoneta and Firalis experts including the Neuroscience team, led by Dr. S. Moussaoui, and the Molecular Biology team, led by Dr. E. Schordan.
There are about 50 million cases of dementia worldwide in 2019; with nearly 8 million new cases per year. This number will more than triple to 152 million by 2050. The total worldwide cost of dementia in 2018 is estimated at US$1 trillion. Currently, the diagnosis of AD is based on clinical neurocognitive scores (from tests showing poor specificity), complex and expensive neuroimaging tests such as Amyloid PET-scans or tests using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, which require an invasive lumbar puncture. There is an unmet need for a non-invasive blood-based test for the diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s. Thanks to extensive research collaborations, large clinical networks, and IP-protected panels of blood-based non-coding RNA biomarkers, Amoneta Diagnostics enters into the final clinical qualification of the MemoryLinc test as a blood-based In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) tool for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Amoneta’s biomarker program aims at an early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using a simple blood test. The selection of our MemoryLINC project by the ADDF, external scientific reviewers and Joint Steering Committee is recognition of the scientific excellence and the potential clinical diagnostic value of our future IVD products for early Alzheimer diagnosis.” said Prof. H. Firat, CEO of the Firalis group of companies. The MemoryLINC focuses on the final qualification of the lncRNA (long non-coding RNA) panels in one of the largest prospective clinical studies designed for the clinical qualification of candidate blood biomarkers (www.addia-project-h2020.eu). The multi-centric study is recruiting 800 participants: 400 patients with different stages of Alzheimer’s disease, 200 patients with other types of dementia , including dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson’s disease dementia, frontotemporal dementia, corticobasal degeneration, and progressive supranuclear palsy, in addition to 200 healthy control subjects (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03030586)
“We are enthusiastic about Amoneta’s research on non-coding RNAs and the possibilities they represent for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Howard Fillit, MD, Founding Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of ADDF. “If successful, the program could lead to an entirely new class of tests to diagnose the disease early and support the development of new therapeutic strategies.”
Funding is provided for MemoryLink by the ADDF Diagnostics Accelerator, a fund set up in collaboration with ADDF Co—Founder Leonard Lauder and Bill Gates along with other philanthropic partners including Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, the Dolby family, and the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, among others. The initiative seeks to accelerate the development of affordable and accessible biomarkers to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and to advance the development of more targeted treatments. To learn more about the initiative visit the website at: AlzDiscovery.org/accelerator.
ABOUT Amoneta Diagnostics S.A.S.
Amoneta Diagnostics, created in 2014 is a French biotechnology company specializing in the development, qualification and commercialization of innovative and effective tests for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders, in particular for Alzheimer's disease. The company has a strong portfolio of intellectual property for blood-based biomarkers including a new class of non-coding RNAs as diagnostic targets for AD and other dementia types.
Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of dependence on market growth, competition and dependence on government agencies and other third parties for funding contract research and services.
Press contact
Stephanie Boutiller: +33 (0) 3 89 910 111 - info@amoneta.com
About FIRALIS S.A.
The mother company of Amoneta Diagnostics, Firalis is a biotechnology company with a mission to improve disease outcome, therapeutic decisions and generate savings in healthcare industry. Through biomarker discovery, development and regulatory qualification, Firalis develops and markets biomarker based RUO (Research-use-only) and IVD (In-vitro- diagnostic) kits in the field of cardiovascular, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with particular interest in rheumatoid arthritis. With a cutting-edge technology platform and a very high quality environment (ISO 9001, ISO 13845, ISO 17025 and NF S 96-900), Firalis provides a comprehensive range of biomarker services from research to clinical applications in key therapeutic areas. Additional information is available at www.firalis.com
Press contact
Gabriella Cunha: +33 (0) 3 89 910 111 - sales@firalis.com
About the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease. The ADDF is the only public charity solely focused on funding the development of drugs for Alzheimer's, employing a venture philanthropy model to support research in academia and the biotech industry. Through the generosity of its donors, the ADDF has awarded over $115 million to fund more than 590 Alzheimer's drug discovery programs and clinical trials in 18 countries. To learn more, please visit: http://www.alzdiscovery.org/.
