The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s (ADDF) Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) and The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) have announced a $5m partnership to accelerate the development of minimally invasive biomarkers for measuring pathologies found in people living with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
“At this pivotal moment in neurodegenerative disease research, the field needs diagnostics that can keep pace with the complexity of disease biology and address key co-pathologies,” said Isobel Coleman, chief executive officer of the ADDF.
“This partnership shows how venture philanthropy can bring together mission-driven capital, rigorous science, and complementary expertise to take on high-impact challenges that no single organization can solve alone. By joining forces with MJFF, we will accelerate the next generation of biomarkers and strengthen the foundation for precision medicine across Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and additional neurodegenerative diseases.”
The partnership’s focus is to advance the detection of co-pathologies, including alpha-synuclein, a protein that clumps in the brains of nearly all 6m people worldwide who live with Parkinson’s and an estimated 30-50% of those living with Alzheimer’s. Scientists believe this accumulation harms cells and results in symptoms and progression of both diseases. Today, detecting these clumps through non-invasive methods is one of the foremost challenges in diagnosing disease and monitoring its progression.
Prior ADDF and MJFF investments have already helped advance the field, including through development of an assay in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) allowing for early detection of alpha-synuclein pathology. The University of Texas team that developed the assay has since launched biotech Amprion, funded by the ADDF, which partnered with MJFF’s landmark study, the Parkinson’s Precision Medicine Initiative (PPMI).
The new partnership is designed to build on that progress by advancing more scalable and minimally invasive biomarker approaches for alpha-synuclein and beyond, consistent with the DxA’s mission.
“Our goal is to define neurodegenerative diseases by their underlying biology and better understand how these pathologies occur across the disease spectrum,” said Mark Frasier, chief scientist at The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
“MJFF has a longstanding track record of enabling biomarker discovery in Parkinson’s disease, and this partnership builds on that foundation. By bringing together Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s researchers to share insights across diseases and disciplines, we can uncover common mechanisms and accelerate biomarker discovery in ways that simply weren’t possible before. That work is helping us achieve this next frontier in research—enrolling the right participants in the right clinical trials and evaluating therapies in the people most likely to benefit.”
The collaboration builds on the goals of the latest phase of the ADDF’s DxA initiative, which is focused on advancing the next generation of diagnostics to support earlier detection, predict disease progression, improve clinical trials, and enable precision medicine. A central part of that work is developing biomarkers that reflect the full pathobiology of Alzheimer’s disease, including tools that can identify co-pathologies. As new treatments move the field toward more personalised care, these diagnostics will be essential to understanding each person’s underlying biology and matching future therapies to the right patients at the right time.
“The Diagnostics Accelerator was created to close exactly these kinds of gaps by identifying high-potential approaches, rigorously evaluating the science, and helping move the most promising tools toward validation,” said Niranjan Bose, managing director, Health & Life Sciences at Gates Ventures.
“Partnerships like this will build on the work the DxA has already done to transform the Alzheimer’s diagnostics landscape by expanding the field’s ability to detect the full complexity of Alzheimer’s and related diseases, ultimately moving us closer to precision medicine across neurodegenerative diseases.”