Firms hope partnership advances access to blood-based Alzheimer’s testing

A partnership between a clinical diagnostics company and a clinical manufacturing firm aims to support therapeutic development, clinical trials, reimbursement and routine clinical adoption for a range of neurodegenerative diseases.

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics and Fujirebio said in a joint release that they expect the collaboration to combine Fujirebio’s expertise in developing neurodegenerative disease biomarker assays and generating the clinical evidence to drive clinical adoption with Beckman Coulter’s proprietary high-sensitivity detection capabilities along with its roster of immunoassay analyzers.

“We at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics believe access to blood-based tests is critical to Alzheimer’s disease care,” Julie Sawyer Montgomery, president of Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, said in the release. “Combining the strengths of Fujirebio 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.”

Since current AD diagnostics rely heavily on PET imaging or a lumbar puncture for cerebral spinal fluid testing, one goal of the Fujirebio and Beckman Coulter partnership will be to improve access to more patient-friendly, blood-based diagnostic testing, according to the release.

“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,” Goki Ishikawa, president and CEO of Fujirebio, said in the release.