Imeka receives investment from ADDF to develop novel biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease

A Canadian neuroimaging company has received an investment from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation to accelerate development of novel biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

According to a release from Imeka, the financial support will assist with a large-scale, longitudinal study of dementia markers and their progression from pre-symptomatic stages to the onset of AD and other forms of dementia.

“We are extremely grateful to collaborate with the ADDF on this breakthrough project,” Imeka CEO Jean-René Bélanger said in the release. “Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that impacts the everyday lives of millions of people and their families. The investment from the ADDF will fuel research that significantly advances our understanding of Alzheimer's disease.”

The company will also evaluate three novel, non-invasive diffusion MRI biomarkers of neuroinflammation, demyelination and axonal disruption in high-quality AD data sets as potential alternatives to positron emission tomography scans.

“Neuroinflammation has long been an area of interest in Alzheimer’s drug development, but without the proper biomarkers to monitor inflammation levels in the brain, researchers will struggle to validate their findings and showcase the efficacy of their drugs,” Howard Fillit, MD, co-founder and chief science officer at the ADDF, said in the release.