Bioventix Plc Collaboration with Pre Diagnostics AS

 
TIDMBVXP 
 
Press release 
 
                                 Bioventix plc 
 
                        ("Bioventix" or the "Company") 
 
 Pre Diagnostics and Bioventix enter collaboration on blood-based beta amyloid 
                          Alzheimer's diagnostic test 
 
Oslo, 31 May 2016, Norwegian Alzheimer's diagnostics company Pre Diagnostics AS 
today announced a collaboration with leading UK antibody specialist Bioventix 
plc (BVXP).  Under the terms of the agreement Bioventix will develop and 
provide antibodies for Pre Diagnostics new patient-friendly IVD test for 
dementia based on mid domain beta amyloid detection. 
 
The inventor of Pre Diagnostics' approach, Professor Tormod Fladby of Akershus 
University Hospital and the University of Oslo commented on the clinical need: 
"Alzheimer's disease develops over many years and the brain adapts to the 
disease.  It can take 10-20 years before dementia onset.  By then is it too 
late to reverse the disease symptoms and brain degeneration.  Early detection 
of disease activity is likely to allow more effective treatment early in the 
disease course, and may improve quality of life and delay disease progression 
for patients with Alzheimer's disease.  Our research, on which the new test is 
based, shows that Alzheimer's disease is accompanied by systemic responses in 
certain white blood cells (macrophages) unique to the disease which can be 
accurately measured in the blood samples of patients." 
 
Pre Diagnostics CEO Håkon Sæterøy commented.  "By working with Bioventix, 
utilising their in-depth antibody and ELISA expertise, we aim to further 
optimise our current prototype blood-based Alzheimer's test which has already 
shown promise in preliminary testing". 
 
According to Sæterøy, the company is now on track for launching a research only 
test in 2017:  "It is now widely accepted that a new blood-based test with high 
accuracy in the early disease stages is essential to accelerate effective drug 
development and intervention within the Alzheimer's space.  We aim to develop 
such tests that effectively demonstrate any intervention effect on the key 
disease mechanisms." 
 
Peter Harrison, CEO of Bioventix plc said: "We are delighted to be involved 
with Pre Diagnostics and their beta amyloid project.  We are very impressed by 
the Oslo-based group and their research partners, their thorough approach to 
basic science and their ability to apply this to clinical research.  We believe 
that our antibody and assay capabilities can be applied to beta amyloid, thus 
facilitating an improved Alzheimer test for the Oslo group.  It will be 
exciting to work with them towards further clinical testing and 
commercialisation". 
 
For further information, please contact: 
 
Pre Diagnostics AS 
Håkon Sæterøy              Chief Executive Officer   Tel: [phone] 
 
Bioventix plc 
Peter Harrison             Chief Executive Officer   Tel: [phone] 
 
finnCap Ltd 
Geoff Nash/Simon Hicks     Corporate Finance         Tel: [phone] 
Steve Norcross             Corporate Broking 
 
About Pre Diagnostics AS 
 
Pre Diagnostics (www.pre-diagnostics.com) is an innovative Norwegian diagnostic 
company that seeks to create value for patients, partners, and investors by 
developing pioneering and patient-friendly, in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) products 
for early detection of diseases. The company's proprietary concept is built 
upon the scientific premise that a disease evokes systemic responses in 
macrophages unique to that disease which can be accurately measured in the 
blood samples of patients. Pre Diagnostics aims to be a leader in the diagnosis 
of early Alzheimer's disease and is thus focused on the development of IVD 
biomarker products that use well-established technologies and procedures. The 
company protects its technology with an evolving patent portfolio 
 
About Bioventix plc: 
 
Bioventix (www.bioventix.com) specialises in the development and commercial 
supply of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies with a primary focus on their 
application in clinical diagnostics, such as in automated immunoassays used in 
blood testing.  The antibodies created at Bioventix are generated in sheep and 
are of particular benefit where the target is present at low concentration and 
where conventional monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies have failed to produce a 
suitable reagent.  Bioventix currently offers a portfolio of antibodies to 
customers for both commercial use and R&D purposes, for the diagnosis or 
monitoring of a broad range of conditions, including heart disease, cancer, 
fertility, thyroid function and drug abuse.  Bioventix currently supplies 
antibody products and services to the majority of multinational clinical 
diagnostics companies.  Bioventix is based in Farnham, UK and its shares are 
traded on AIM under the symbol BVXP. 
 
About Alzheimer's disease: 
 
Alzheimer disease is the leading cause of dementia among older people. An 
estimated 10 percent of Americans over the age of 65 and half of those over age 
85 have Alzheimer's. More than five million Americans currently suffer from the 
disease, and the number is projected to balloon to 10-15 million over the next 
several decades. Alzheimer's is now the third most expensive disease to treat 
in the U.S., costing society close to $100 billion annually. 
 
Alzheimer's is a progressive, incurable disease. The earliest damage occurs in 
the entorhinal cortex, hippocampus and basal forebrain, which are small, 
specialized structures in the brain that play a critical role in memory. The 
disease is characterized by amyloid plaques (deposits in the brain of a sticky 
protein called amyloid beta peptide) and neurofibrillary tangles (abnormally 
twisted forms of the protein tau, in the long branches of neurons). The cause 
remains a mystery. 
 
 
 
END 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 31, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)