Pipeline
We are building a robust pipeline of protein-based diagnostic tests to transform the standard of care in a range of diseases
Validated Potential in Neurological Diseases and Early-Stage Cancers
Our APEX and Glympse technologies have demonstrated potential to improve upon gold-standard diagnostic tests in multiple disease areas beyond Alzheimer’s. We are currently partnering with biopharma companies and researchers to bring to market a full suite of neurological diagnostic tests, and to pursue early-stage cancer diagnostics with the Glympse platform.
APEX: The APEX platform offers versatility to directly identify protein biomarkers across multiple disease indications beyond Alzheimer’s disease, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer and heart disease. These biomarkers include both aggregated (i.e., sticky) proteins known to signify the presence of disease, and markers carried on extracellular vesicles (EVs).
In Parkinson’s disease, sticky alpha-synuclein (α-synuclein) proteins accumulate in the brain and form aggregates that disrupt cell function. These aggregates preferentially bind to nanoscale EVs in the brain, though only scarce levels of these biomarkers can pass through the blood-brain barrier into the bloodstream, making it difficult for most blood tests to accurately detect them. Early studies have demonstrated that APEX can detect these sticky EV-bound α-synuclein proteins in people with Parkinson’s.
Glympse: Due to its novel ability to measure and analyze protease activity in the blood, the Glympse platform could provide actionable insights for the many diseases, including cancers, that have altered protease activity from the earliest stages. Given strong scientific evidence suggesting that distinct changes in protease activity also occur as diseases progress (e.g., stages 1-4 of cancers), Glympse also has potential to support precise disease monitoring.
Initial data from a preclinical study using the Glympse platform in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) demonstrated diagnostic potential for protease activity. It also provided proof of concept for the platform, which effectively differentiated between subjects with HCC and healthy controls in all cohorts.