Oslo--March 26th 2012: DiaGenic ASA [OSL:DIAG] today announced a research agreement to collaborate with GE Healthcare to develop a blood-based test using DiaGenic's peripheral gene expression profiling in patients with mild cognitive impairment, a disorder associated with risk for Alzheimer's Disease. The study would be used in conjunction with PET imaging to identify a blood based gene expression signature in these patients. The PET imaging agent, [18F] Flutemetamol, is currently in phase 3 development and is not yet approved by any regulatory authority.
This research effort will combine expertise in data integration, informatics, genomics and imaging. Its goal will be to find a signature that may identify subjects at risk of Alzheimer's at a very early disease stage. The collaboration is part of a broad portfolio of diagnostic solutions that GE Healthcare is developing in the Alzheimer's field.
"GE Healthcare has a global commitment to advancing clinical knowledge and providing innovations that may accelerate diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and transform patient management," said Jonathan Allis, General Manager, MI PET Segment, GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics. "The collaboration we are announcing today is part of this effort to understand and identify Alzheimer's disease in its very early stages. Finding a signature that identifies people at risk of developing the disease, may enable physicians to make more informed decisions about patient care."