Aptamer Group: York firm announces step forward in saliva test for Alzheimer’s disease

The York firm, along with its development partner, Neuro-Bio Ltd, said the businesses estimates they will develop and validate a prototype ELISA over the next 12-18 months for transfer to a manufacturer or distributor.

Baroness Susan Greenfield, chief executive officer of Neuro-Bio, said: “We are very excited at the progress made by the collaboration between our two companies.

“The technical, innovative talent at Aptamer, when combined with our insights and unique approach to Alzheimer’s disease, holds the promise of a real breakthrough for a major, currently unmet, clinical need.”

The latest advancement follows a recent test demonstration from the firms which showed a “statistically significant” difference in levels of an Alzheimer's disease biomarker between saliva samples from Alzheimer’s patients and healthy control patients.

Aptamer said further development efforts are now being made to clinically validate the new test format, with a staged diagnostic development strategy now underway with Neuro-Bio which will initially focus on advancing the ELISA test for widespread clinical adoption.

Aptamer Group also announced that it had finalised a royalty agreement with Neuro-Bio.

Under the agreed terms, Aptamer is eligible to receive royalty payments with a blended royalty rate of 11.1 per cent on the first £166m of sales, with five per cent thereafter for a 15-year term starting at first commercial sales across this diagnostic format.

Dr. Arron Tolley, chief executive officer of Aptamer Group, said: “I am delighted that we have secured commercial terms with Neuro-Bio.

“This agreement underscores Apatmer’s model to establish ongoing revenue-generating opportunities in high-growth markets from the Group’s developed Optimer binders across its asset portfolio.

“Adapting the Optimer-based Alzheimer’s diagnostic into a widely compatible test format is a

significant step forward in the group’s mission to bring this test to market. The ability to integrate the test into existing hospital systems makes it easier for hospitals to adopt, providing a faster and easier route to market.”