The National Institutes of Health is showcasing the results of 11 years of federal small business investment in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research.
In a new paper published Tuesday in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia, the authors cover the impact of $280 million worth of research investments conducted by 230 small businesses across 37 states. Highlights include advancements in care intervention, diagnostics and therapeutics, such as the following:
-ActivePERS, now widely available, is a medical alert pendant with automatic fall detection, fall risk assessment and activity monitoring. Developer Biosensics used its federal funding awards to validate the device’s fall detection technologies. ActivePERS is now licensed to and sold by GreatCall, now part of Best Buy Co., Inc.
-PrecivityAD, developed by C2N Diagnostics, is the first blood test available commercially to physicians that can detect the presence of Alzheimer’s brain plaques. While the results by themselves do not diagnose the disease, they are consistent with those of a diagnostic brain scan, and can be used as an easier and less costly step in the diagnostic process, according to C2N. The test has been available since Oct. 2020.
-Cognition Therapeutics used federal grants to confirm the safety of a small molecule that may protect and restore brain pathways that are disrupted in Alzheimer’s. The molecule, named CT1812, was fast-tracked in 2017 by the FDA for treatment of people living with Alzheimer’s. The company has since been awarded $75.8 million to conduct a Phase II study in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium.
The National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads federal efforts on Alzheimer’s and related dementias research.
The new report was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
