Beckman Coulter Diagnostics and Fujirebio, a leader in neurological markers and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) manufacturing, have announced a new partnership combining their respective immunoassay strengths to support therapeutic development, clinical trials, reimbursement, and routine clinical adoption in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.
Alzheimer's Disease International estimates over 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia and the number of people affected is set to rise to 139 million by 2050. With more than 100 disease modifying drug candidates under development, the pipeline for new therapeutics has never been more robust. The recent approval by the FDA of two monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics is a major milestone in improving Alzheimer's patients' health and slowing down disease progression.
The new partnership between the two firms relies on Fujirebio's expertise in developing its first-to-market, high-quality neurodegenerative disease biomarker assays and generating the clinical evidence to drive clinical adoption. Beckman Coulter brings proprietary high-sensitivity detection capabilities and a broad installed base of immunoassay analysers to drive global availability and support for development of more accurate next-generation solutions.
To complement the current diagnostic solutions, which rely on PET-imaging or a lumbar puncture for cerebral spinal fluid testing, Fujirebio and Beckman Coulter intend to bolster widespread access to patient-friendly, blood-based diagnostic capabilities which will complement and accelerate the impact of breakthrough Alzheimer's Disease therapeutics.
Julie Sawyer Montgomery, President, Beckman Coulter Diagnostics and Danaher Diagnostics Group Executive, commented: "Combining the strengths of Fujirebio, the worldwide leader for neurodegenerative biomarker discovery and immunoassay development, with the global reach and high-sensitivity capabilities of Beckman Coulter's immunoassay installed base means patients, neurologists and general medical practitioners will have unmatched accessibility to high-quality neurodegenerative assays the world over. We at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics believe access to blood-based tests is critical to Alzheimer's Disease care."
This partnership addresses the global unmet clinical need for blood-based Alzheimer's Disease diagnostics through continued menu expansion on Beckman Coulter's Access Family of immunoassay analysers leveraging Fujirebio's assay technology. Initial assay development efforts will focus on the recently introduced DxI 9000 Access immunoassay analyser (pictured above) and the widespread installed base of Access Family immunoassay analysers. The DxI 9000 has shown capability to develop increasingly sensitive and clinically-relevant assays enabling the platform to keep pace with tomorrow's testing requirements as healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies take aim at evermore challenging diseases, like Alzheimer's Disease.