A Vancouver researcer is part of a team of Canadian scientists that is one step closer to getting an accurate test for Alzheimer’s disease out of the lab and onto the market.
The team is led by Neil Cashman, a neurologist at Vancouver Coastal Health and chief scientific officer and co-founder of Amorfix Life Sciences, which is based in Mississauga, Ontario.
Cashman’s team has helped develop a breakthrough diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease that has achieved close to 90% sensitivity and specificity, thereby minimizing the potential for inaccurate results.
Robert Gundel, president and CEO of Amorfix, said “Right now, diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer’s disease can be as low as 70%, meaning three out of 10 people who are diagnosed with this disease might not have it, but rather some other kind of dementia. With our test, we’ve potentially reduced this percentage down to one out of 10 people.”
According to the company, the next step for the successful commercialization of the test includes securing a development partner that has the expertise and resources to assist in taking it to market.
The ultimate goal, said Gundel, is to develop a commercial version that can be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in patients who exhibit mild cognitive impairment, enabling early intervention.
This is important because the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase significantly over the next 20 to 30 years, he said.
Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, early diagnosis can significantly delay the disease’s progression.
@JHarrisonBIV