Quanterix To Unveil Groundbreaking Neurodegenerative Disease Research And Strategic Partnership At Neuroscience 2016

Researchers will present key findings on the development of sensitive predictive biomarkers to establish therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases; Company will join forces with UmanDiagnostics to provide an ultrasensitive assay for Nf-L

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Quanterix Corporation, a company digitizing biomarker analysis to advance the science of precision health, today announced a strategic collaboration with UmanDiagnostics AB, a company specializing in the early detection of brain diseases, to provide commercial access to a Simoa ultrasensitive NeuroFilament Light (Nf-L) assay. Additionally, the company today unveiled that researchers from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, will present new results from research conducted using Quanterix’ Simoa technology at Neuroscience 2016 on November 12 – 16, 2016 in San Diego, CA.

“We are extremely pleased to be working closely with Quanterix to provide Uman’s highly specific Nf-L antibodies for use in the Simoa assay format. This enables the world’s most specific and sensitive assay for Nf-L”

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease, are currently incurable and have debilitating conditions that result in progressive neurodegeneration, which may start 20-30 years before symptoms are noticed. Developing specific, sensitive and predictive biomarkers is one of the major challenges so far for establishing therapeutic treatment for these diseases. The major barrier is a lack of highly sensitive and reliable tools to measure the gradient difference of molecules in the bloodstream at the pre-symptomatic stage. Many of the critical neurology health related biomarkers, including Nf-L, are not present in high enough concentrations in the blood to be detected with standard assay technology today.

Quanterix’ digital health solution, Simoa, solves this problem by giving researchers the ability to closely examine critical biomarkers simultaneously, in a hypersensitive and reliable manner. The strategic partnership with UmanDiagnostics will provide researchers and clinicians with commercial access to the most sensitive NeuroFilament Light (Nf-L) assay available on the market, which will improve detection and diagnosis capabilities in neurology.

“We are extremely pleased to be working closely with Quanterix to provide Uman’s highly specific Nf-L antibodies for use in the Simoa assay format. This enables the world’s most specific and sensitive assay for Nf-L,” said Dr. Niklas Norgren, CEO, UmanDiagnostics. “The Simoa Nf-L assay is capable of detecting this highly informative neuronal damage biomarker directly in blood, enabling simplified assessment of a variety of neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and potentially a critical way to access concussion-related neurological issues.”

“This year’s Neuroscience event is a great opportunity for researchers to showcase groundbreaking discoveries in several different areas of neurology and an appropriate forum for us to unveil our partnership with UmanDiagnostics,” said Kevin Hrusovsky, CEO and Executive Chairman, Quanterix. “Our collaboration with UmanDiagnostics will provide critical, commercial availability of our Simoa-based assay, which can detect and quantify Nf-L in blood. We look forward to advancing research with this sensitive assay and uncovering groundbreaking discoveries in neurology disease. We’re also excited to take part in this innovative conference and collaborate with leading scientists in the field to transform the way in which we detect and treat neurodegenerative disease in the future.”

Additional information on the University of Mississippi Medical Center and German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease research session and presentation include:

• Nanosymposium Session Details: “Using a Single Molecule Digital Analyzer to Measure Blood Based Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases”
  When: Saturday, November 12, 2016, 1:00 – 1:15 p.m. PT
  Where: San Diego Convention Center, Room 32B
  Authors: J. Wang, Department of Pathology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Q. Zhang, B. Zheng, J. Lage, C. Stockmeier, T. Mosley, University of Mississippi Medical Center
  Session Abstract: Using Quanterix technology, these researchers have successfully developed an ultra-sensitive, single molecule digital analyser platform which can measure the molecules in plasma and tissue homogenates at serial pg/ml to fg/ml in a very reliable manner – R square values are as high as 99 in serial dilution tests. They’ve now successfully established the tests for several cytokines and also for a neurosteroid allopregnanolone in human plasma samples. Further spike and recovery experiments in diluted samples help them to accurately measure the spiked samples in calibrator into those diluted brain samples (recovery 70-93%). The high sensitivity also indicates that these molecules can be measured in a small size quantity/volume (less than 200µ) of samples. Therefore, the highly sensitive and reliable measurement platform can be used to determine the blood based, early changes of bioactive molecules for neurodegenerative disease. The results will also provide targets for developing therapeutic strategies for these neurodegenerative diseases.

• Poster Presentation Details: “Prevention of Tau Increase in Cerebrospinal Fluid of APP Transgenic Mice Suggests Downstream Effect of BACE1 Inhibition”
  When: Wednesday, November 16, 2016, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. PT
  Where: San Diego Convention Center, Halls B-H
  Authors: J. Schelle, German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Graduate School of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, L. Häsler, German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Natural and Medical Science Institute, J. Göpfert, Natural and Medical Science Institute, T. Joos, Natural and Medical Science Institute, H. Vanderstichele, ADx NeuroSciences, E. Stoops, ADx NeuroSciences, U. Neumann, Neuroscience, Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research, D. Shimshek, Neuroscience, Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research M. Staufenbiel, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, M. Jucker, German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research S. Käser, German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research
  Presentation Abstract: The inhibition of the beta-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is a main therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The characterization of BACE1 inhibitors has largely focused on direct effects, (i.e. the reduction of ß-amyloid (Aß) generation and deposition in the brain). These researchers previously reported an age-related increase of tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Aß precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice reminiscent of changes in the CSF of AD patients. Using a novel high-sensitivity tau sandwich immunoassay they now demonstrate that BACE1 inhibition prevents CSF tau increase both in early-depositing APP tg mice and APP tg mice with moderate Aß pathology. Their results demonstrate that BACE1 inhibition not only reduces Aß generation but also downstream AD pathophysiology. The tight correlation between Aß aggregation in brain and tau levels in CSF renders CSF tau a valuable marker to predict the effectiveness of BACE inhibitors in current clinical trials.

Quanterix will also be hosting a webinar with Dr. Michelle M. Mielke, Professor of Epidemiology and Neurology, The Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Stephan Käser, HIH Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, on Friday December 2, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. EST on novel CNS biomarker applications enabled by Simoa. The webinar will highlight the use of a Simoa custom assay and the commercial tau assay for different applications in mouse and human studies in both cerebrospinal fluid (mouse) and blood (humans). To learn more about the webinar and register, please visit: http://www.quanterix.com/resources/webinars/novel-cns-biomarker-applications-enabled-single-molecular-array-simoa-technology.

For more information on Quanterix and Simoa technology, please visit booth #3009. To learn more about the Simoa neurology assay menu, please visit: http://www.quanterix.com/therapeutic-areas/neurology.

About Quanterix
Quanterix is a company that’s digitizing biomarker analysis to advance the science of precision health. The company’s digital health solution, Simoa, is changing the way in which healthcare is provided today by giving researchers the ability to closely examine the continuum from health to disease. In doing so, Quanterix enables much earlier disease detection, better prognoses and enhanced treatment methods to improve the quality of life and longevity of the population for generations to come. The technology is currently being used for applications in a majority of therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, cardiology, inflammation and infectious disease. The company was established in 2007 and is located in Lexington, Massachusetts.