NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – ADx NeuroSciences and Quanterix announced today that they have signed a deal to collaborate on a blood-based diagnostic test for concussion and traumatic brain injury.
The firms, who previously collaborated on the development of a blood-based diagnostic for Alzheimer's disease, said the new test will measure levels of the tau protein in a person's blood as tau leaks from the brain into the bloodstream following head trauma or injury. The companies will merge ADx's Tau antibodies with Quanterix's ultrasensitive single-molecule array platform, resulting in a highly sensitive test that can detect the very small amounts of tau in the blood following an injury.
Further terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased with this long-term collaboration with Quanterix," said ADx CEO Koen Dewaele in a statement. "It is also a perfect business case on how the market potential of one product can be expanded into a new market: from Alzheimer's disease to traumatic brain injury."
In July 2015, Quanterix received a $500,000 grant from GE and the National Football League to address the diagnosis and prognosis of brain trauma.
ADx further announced today that it has concluded its third financing round, and received a capital increase of an undisclosed amount from two new individual private investors and existing shareholders. The firm will use the additional capital to develop biomarkers for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and research other neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS. Last week, Quanterix also announced that it had raised additional funding, completing a Series D round for $46 million from new and existing investors.