Beckman Coulter, a clinical diagnostics company of Danaher, and Japanese biotechnology company Fujirebio have teamed up to develop blood-based tests for Alzheimer’s disease.
The partnership will leverage Fujirebio’s expertise in high-quality biomarker assays for neurodegenerative diseases, and generating clinical evidence to drive clinical adoption.
It will use Beckman Coulter’s high-sensitivity detection capabilities and broad installed base of immunoassay analysers for the development of accurate next-generation solutions.
The two companies aim to expand the access to patient-friendly, blood-based diagnostic capabilities to complement and advance the impact of Alzheimer’s Disease therapeutics.
Fujirebio Holdings president and CEO Goki Ishikawa said: “This collaboration with Beckman Coulter will help accelerate the deployment of our portfolio of new, novel neurodegenerative biomarkers to laboratories and clinicians around the world.
“As the pre-eminent provider of leading-edge immunoassays to the diagnostics industry, this partnership is an important step to speed the transition of these markers from research to clinical use in all major geographies and to bring a higher standard of care to patients and their families in the battle against this debilitating disease.”
Under the partnership, Fujirebio will leverage its assay technology to develop diagnostic tests based on Beckman Coulter’s Access family of immunoassay analysers.
The initial assay development will focus on the recently launched DxI 9000 Access Immunoassay Analyser and the installed base of Access family analysers.
The DxI 9000 Analyser is capable of developing sensitive and clinically-relevant assays.
Also, Fujirebio will develop and expand the menu with additional biomarkers obtained through its recent acquisition of ADx NeuroSciences.
The new biomarkers would allow clinical research professionals to further investigate clinical utility in assessing Alzheimer’s Disease or other neurological disease conditions.
Beckman Coulter Diagnostics president and Danaher Diagnostics Group executive Julie Sawyer Montgomery said: “Combing 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.”
