Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no curative or disease-modifying treatments available. Current therapies provide only symptomatic relief, underscoring a major unmet medical need.

At the core of Parkinson’s pathology lies alpha-synuclein (SNCA). Its misfolding and aggregation, particularly into toxic oligomeric species, initiate neuronal dysfunction and enable the prion-like spread of pathology throughout the brain. Increasing evidence identifies these oligomers as the most neurotoxic and clinically relevant forms, making them an ideal therapeutic target. However, antibodies that have previously been tested in clinical trials show low selectivity and bind not only to pathological SNCA aggregates, but also to physiologically relevant monomeric SNCA molecules. This increases the risk of undesirable side effects and reduces the potential clinical efficacy.

Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Immunology and Cell Therapy in Leipzig, we developed the patented antibody 5G4 (DE102011008153) into a new and humanized clone according to GMP guidelines. We extensively validated the humanized antibody using in vitro cell culture and in vivo animal models for Morbus Parkinson. A key difference and unique feature compared to previous antibody-based approaches is that 5G4 binds to structure-specific, pathologically aggregated SNCA structures, rather than to monomeric SNCA.

For the next developmental phase, we invite strategic partners to join us in translating this innovation into a transformative treatment for patients worldwide. With strong scientific rationale and significant clinical and commercial potential, this program represents an attractive partnering opportunity to advance a first-in-class disease-modifying therapy.

Detecting neurodegeneration (ND) biomarkers in plasma is challenging due to their low abundance.

Our Neuro IP Kit enables easy enrichment of the neurodegeneration-relevant proteins total Tau, different phospho-Tau´s (p50, p181, p217, p231), brain-derived Tau, beta-Amyloid (Aβ), total α-Synuclein, and patho-oligomeric α-Synuclein from plasma by immunoprecipitation. As a positive side effect, all non-specific matrix effects that can interfere with downstream analysis are eliminated. After enrichment, a detection system of choice can be applied (BD Tau LUM ELISA, BD Tau-217 LUM ELISA, SIMOA, Lumipulse, ELECSYS, MSD, ELISA).

Tau is a microtubule-associated protein highly expressed in neurons, where it plays a critical role in microtubule stabilization and axonal transport. Brain-derived Tau originates from the central nervous system and reflects neuronal physiology and pathology, including neurodegenerative processes associated with tauopathies. In contrast, peripheral Tau is expressed by non-neuronal tissues and includes longer “Big-Tau” isoforms that contain the exon 4a insert, which are not representative of CNS pathology.

 Conventional blood-based Tau measurements capture a heterogeneous mixture of central and peripheral Tau species, thereby limiting their specificity for brain-derived signals. To address this challenge, we have developed the monoclonal antibody 2B8 that selectively recognizes continuous exon 4–5 sequences present in brain-derived Tau isoforms, while showing no binding to peripheral Tau variants containing the exon 4a insert. This molecular specificity enables the selective detection of CNS-derived Tau in blood-based samples.

Our BD-Tau Workflows: BD Tau Neuro IP Kit & BD Tau Luminescence ELISA / BD Tau-217 Luminescence ELISA

 Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's leave molecular traces, including in the form of tau protein. However, only a small portion of the Tau protein measurable in the blood originates in the brain. Conventional tau measurement in blood, therefore, often provides inaccurate signals.

Our BD-Tau Workflows make the difference.

Through targeted immunoprecipitation and the specific detection of brain-derived tau isoforms, our workflows enable, for the first time, a sensitive and specific measurement of brain-derived tau and brain-derived tau-217 directly in the blood, using standard laboratory equipment.

The RoboGene HDV RNA Quantification Kit 3.0, in combination with EXcaliPURE nucleic acid extraction

 This is Roboscreen’s first application for the fully automated MULTIDIAG platform developed by imk Health Intelligence GmbH. The platform enables fully automated analysis of Hepatitis-DELTA RNA, the core biomarker for monitoring of patients with chronic Hepatitis-Delta, the most severe form of viral Hepatitis. As a next step, Roboscreen will add serological testing for Anti-HDV-Antibodies to the same platform, enabling serological testing and nucleic acid analyses on the same system. Tests for the other blood-borne Hepatitis viruses (HBV & HCV) will soon be available too.

In parallel, Roboscreen is preparing to extend the applications on the MULTIDIAG platform to Blood-based Biomarker (BBM) testing for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.