Press release
Bioventix plc
("Bioventix" or the "Company")
Pre Diagnostics and Bioventix enter collaboration on blood-based beta amyloid
Alzheimer's diagnostic test
Oslo, 31 May 2016, Norwegian Alzheimer's diagnostics company Pre Diagnostics AS
today announced a collaboration with leading UK antibody specialist Bioventix
plc (BVXP). Under the terms of the agreement Bioventix will develop and
provide antibodies for Pre Diagnostics new patient-friendly IVD test for
dementia based on mid domain beta amyloid detection.
The inventor of Pre Diagnostics' approach, Professor Tormod Fladby of Akershus
University Hospital and the University of Oslo commented on the clinical need:
"Alzheimer's disease develops over many years and the brain adapts to the
disease. It can take 10-20 years before dementia onset. By then is it too
late to reverse the disease symptoms and brain degeneration. Early detection
of disease activity is likely to allow more effective treatment early in the
disease course, and may improve quality of life and delay disease progression
for patients with Alzheimer's disease. Our research, on which the new test is
based, shows that Alzheimer's disease is accompanied by systemic responses in
certain white blood cells (macrophages) unique to the disease which can be
accurately measured in the blood samples of patients."
Pre Diagnostics CEO Håkon Sæterøy commented. "By working with Bioventix,
utilising their in-depth antibody and ELISA expertise, we aim to further
optimise our current prototype blood-based Alzheimer's test which has already
shown promise in preliminary testing".
According to Sæterøy, the company is now on track for launching a research only
test in 2017: "It is now widely accepted that a new blood-based test with high
accuracy in the early disease stages is essential to accelerate effective drug
development and intervention within the Alzheimer's space. We aim to develop
such tests that effectively demonstrate any intervention effect on the key
disease mechanisms."
Peter Harrison, CEO of Bioventix plc said: "We are delighted to be involved
with Pre Diagnostics and their beta amyloid project. We are very impressed by
the Oslo-based group and their research partners, their thorough approach to
basic science and their ability to apply this to clinical research. We believe
that our antibody and assay capabilities can be applied to beta amyloid, thus
facilitating an improved Alzheimer test for the Oslo group. It will be
exciting to work with them towards further clinical testing and
commercialisation".
For further information, please contact:
Pre Diagnostics AS
Håkon Sæterøy Chief Executive Officer Tel: +47 956 95 175
Bioventix plc
Peter Harrison Chief Executive Officer Tel: 01252 728 001
finnCap Ltd
Geoff Nash/Simon Hicks Corporate Finance Tel: 020 7220 0500
Steve Norcross Corporate Broking
About Pre Diagnostics AS
Pre Diagnostics (www.pre-diagnostics.com) is an innovative Norwegian diagnostic
company that seeks to create value for patients, partners, and investors by
developing pioneering and patient-friendly, in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) products
for early detection of diseases. The company's proprietary concept is built
upon the scientific premise that a disease evokes systemic responses in
macrophages unique to that disease which can be accurately measured in the
blood samples of patients. Pre Diagnostics aims to be a leader in the diagnosis
of early Alzheimer's disease and is thus focused on the development of IVD
biomarker products that use well-established technologies and procedures. The
company protects its technology with an evolving patent portfolio
About Bioventix plc:
Bioventix (www.bioventix.com) specialises in the development and commercial
supply of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies with a primary focus on their
application in clinical diagnostics, such as in automated immunoassays used in
blood testing. The antibodies created at Bioventix are generated in sheep and
are of particular benefit where the target is present at low concentration and
where conventional monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies have failed to produce a
suitable reagent. Bioventix currently offers a portfolio of antibodies to
customers for both commercial use and R&D purposes, for the diagnosis or
monitoring of a broad range of conditions, including heart disease, cancer,
fertility, thyroid function and drug abuse. Bioventix currently supplies
antibody products and services to the majority of multinational clinical
diagnostics companies. Bioventix is based in Farnham, UK and its shares are
traded on AIM under the symbol BVXP.
About Alzheimer's disease:
Alzheimer disease is the leading cause of dementia among older people. An
estimated 10 percent of Americans over the age of 65 and half of those over age
85 have Alzheimer's. More than five million Americans currently suffer from the
disease, and the number is projected to balloon to 10-15 million over the next
several decades. Alzheimer's is now the third most expensive disease to treat
in the U.S., costing society close to $100 billion annually.
Alzheimer's is a progressive, incurable disease. The earliest damage occurs in
the entorhinal cortex, hippocampus and basal forebrain, which are small,
specialized structures in the brain that play a critical role in memory. The
disease is characterized by amyloid plaques (deposits in the brain of a sticky
protein called amyloid beta peptide) and neurofibrillary tangles (abnormally
twisted forms of the protein tau, in the long branches of neurons). The cause
remains a mystery.