Through this collaboration, companies will work to identify new blood biomarkers and advance blood biomarkers known for tau pathology in AD. The collaboration aims to develop and clinically advance new tools that measure the pathology of brain tau to potentially stratify patients or monitor the response to treatment in clinical trials on MA. Collaboration has the potential to advance tau-specific blood biomarkers and diagnostic tools that could be used not only in clinical trials, but also in clinical practice to allow the adoption of future therapies with an impact on tau pathology.

"Patient stratification and monitoring for tau pathology is a growing need for the next generation of therapies against Alzheimer's disease, such as our experimental therapies projects to target the tau protein, including ASO led by tau," says Jane Grogan, Ph.D., Research Director, Biogen. "Through this collaboration, we plan to take advantage of our in-depth scientific expertise in the development and use of biomarkers, combined with the diagnostic capabilities of our partners, in order to potentially accelerate the schedule for the development of blood diagnoses capable of measuring a patient's tau pathology levels. »

"The collaborative efforts between Biogen, Beckman Coulter and Fujirebio combine the strength of the development of cutting-edge biomarkers with potential innovative treatments focused on the tauopathy aspect of neurodegeneration, bringing us closer to effective solutions," says Kathleen Orland, Senior Vice President, Executive Director, Chemistry and Immunoassay, Beckman Coulter Diagnostics. "Assuring that high-quality neurological tests are widely available thanks to our global database of analyzers, this collaboration with Biogen and Fujirebio underscores our commitment to work with leaders in the fields of neurodegenerative diseases to bring fully automated, high-throughput, blood-based Alzheimer's disease tests to millions of patients suffering from dementia worldwide. »

"Blood biomarkers for tau pathology could advance the development and implementation of disease modification therapies for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease," says Monte Wiltse, President and CEO of Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc. "This partnership will further help us accelerate our efforts to develop new diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases and deliver them to laboratories and clinicians around the world through our global diagnostic partners, meeting the unmet medical need for blood biomarkers. »

Under the terms of the collaboration, Biogen will provide clinical study data on Alzheimer's disease and expertise in biomarker research to prioritize markers for tau pathology. Fujirebio and Beckman Coulter will be responsible for the development, manufacture and marketing of diagnostics.