NEW YORK ─ Diadem said Monday that it has obtained a €7.5 million ($8.2 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to support the development and commercialization of its AlzoSure Predict prognostic blood test for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
The EIB loan was granted under the Pan European Guarantee Fund’s Venture Debt program, part of a €540 billion EU aid package to counter the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AlzoSurePredict can identify whether individuals over the age of 50 with signs of cognitive impairment will or will not progress to Alzheimer’s disease up to six years before definitive symptoms are apparent, Diadem said.
The test uses an antibody that binds to U-p53AZ and its target sequences. U-p53AZ is a conformational variant of the p53 protein that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease in multiple studies, Diadem said.
"We believe AlzoSure Predict represents a significant advance for the millions of patients in Europe at risk from Alzheimer’s disease," Paul Kinnon, CEO of Diadem, said in a statement. "Earlier knowledge will benefit those individuals found to be at risk, who can now take steps to slow the progression of the disease, as well as those who are found to be at low risk of advancing to [Alzheimer's disease]."
The Brescia, Italy-based startup said it believes that the test will enable the development of promising new therapies. Diadem expects to make the test available in the EU later this year and partner with health providers to enable wide access to it.
The firm announced it had obtained CE marking for its blood test last month and US Food and Drug Administration breakthrough device designation in January.