Scottish Brain Sciences (SBS) has launched a new and accredited clinical laboratory service offering blood‑based biomarker and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) testing for Alzheimer’s disease.
The service increases Scotland’s capacity to provide faster, more accurate and more accessible diagnostic support for clinicians and healthcare providers across the UK.
Blood tests are expected to play a growing role in earlier and more accurate assessment of Alzheimer’s disease, as doctors seek more accessible and less invasive tests than traditional spinal fluid testing or PET scans. The new service gives healthcare teams access to regulated, high‑quality testing that can support more efficient referral pathways and help prepare health systems for future diagnostic models.
Following UKAS ISO 15189 accreditation, the SBS facility is currently the only Scotland based laboratory publicly offering Alzheimer’s biomarker testing for both cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood/plasma assays.
This capability enables regulated, quality assured testing for research and clinical development, while also laying the groundwork for clinical utility and adoption. SBS does not yet offer an open diagnostic service to the public, but its accredited laboratory services are available to partners across academia, the NHS, life sciences industry and clinical trials.
The new laboratory services will support clinicians and healthcare providers assessing patients with suspected Alzheimer’s disease; clinical trials requiring biomarker confirmed participants; academic and translational research into early detection, progression and treatment response; innovation partnerships with diagnostics, biotech and pharmaceutical organisations; and health system readiness for future biomarker enabled care pathways.
The investment positions Scotland as a leader in the UK’s biomarker enabled future and strengthens the country’s ability to attract and deliver world class research.
Lewis Penny, director of laboratory services at Scottish Brain Sciences, said: “Despite their critical importance in ensuring an accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, biomarker tests are currently used to support around 2% of clinical cases in the UK. This is a major step forward for Scotland and the UKs clinical brain health services. Blood‑based biomarkers will become central to earlier, more accurate assessment of Alzheimer’s disease, and this new accredited laboratory service gives healthcare providers the capacity to use them in routine practice.”
SBS is working with partners across the life sciences sector, including Roche, whose leadership in Alzheimer’s diagnostics continues to shape the global biomarker landscape. Roche recently announced the CE marking for a blood-based Alzheimer’s biomarker test in Europe, which the SBS laboratory will begin offering from summer 2026.
Craig Ritchie, founder and CEO of Scottish Brain Sciences, said: “The shift toward blood‑based biomarkers is one of the most significant advances in Alzheimer’s disease in decades. Establishing this accredited laboratory service represents genuine leadership and innovation. It provides the clinical capacity required for high‑quality biomarker testing, enabling healthcare providers to deliver faster, more accurate assessments and preparing health systems for the innovations that are rapidly approaching. We are delighted to see SBS and Scotland taking this proactive step.”
While this is not yet a public or direct-to-patient diagnostic service, the most immediate way for people to benefit from advances in biomarker science remains participation in research. SBS is working with partners across Scotland to expand opportunities for involvement in studies that contribute to earlier, more accurate and more accessible approaches to diagnosis in the future.