Development of Blood-Based Alzheimer's Prognostic Propels Diadem to Finalist Status for Both the Gaetano Marzotto Company Prize and 2030 Social Impact Special Prize

MILAN, Nov. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Diadem srl, a company developing the first blood-based test for the prediction of early onset Alzheimer's disease, today announced that it has been selected as a finalist for both the Gaetano Marzotto Company Prize and the Gaetano Marzotto 2030 Social Impact Special Prize. Separately, the company provided an update on the status of the intellectual property protecting its AlzoSure^® technology.

The Gaetano Marzotto Company Prize is awarded to the best innovative company that shows the capacity to generate significant and positive social, territorial, cultural and environmental returns. Participants must be new entrepreneurs who already have a company and a consolidated team.

The Gaetano Marzotto Social 2030 Impact Special Prize highlights companies helping to advance the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals--17 global objectives to create a better world by 2030. These goals seek to empower people through targets including nutrition, medical care, water and sanitation, sustainable shelter, environmental quality, access to information, inclusiveness and human rights. The Social Impact Prize is awarded to start-up companies whose products advance the social aspect of these goals.

Finalists were selected by prize administrator Premio Marzotto from a pool of 600 applicants. The companies were analyzed by experts representing relevant public, private, financial, technological and specialist sectors. Diadem was one of five finalist companies for the Gaetano Marzotto Company Prize and one of six finalists for the Gaetano Marzotto 2030 Social Impact Special Prize.

"We are incredibly honored to be selected as a finalist for both the Gaetano Marzotto Company Prize and the inaugural Gaetano Marzotto 2030 Social Impact Special Prize, which highlights young companies whose products have the potential to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals and reduce inequality," said Paul Kinnon, CEO of Diadem. "Alzheimer's disease and other dementias afflict more than 50 million people worldwide. Our revolutionary AlzoSure prognostic test could transform Alzheimer's disease management, enabling effective interventions much earlier in the disease process. Importantly, as a blood-based, non-invasive biomarker assay, we expect AlzoSure to be widely available to older populations around the globe, combining great clinical and commercial potential with exceptional accessibility."

Diadem also provided an update on its intellectual property. Diadem has taken steps to patent the innovative AlzoSure technology, including its proprietary antibody and the actual process for the assay. Patents have been filed in Italy, the US and other regions including China and Japan. US Patent 10,183,990 B2, which issued last year, covers Diadem's antibody, immunodiagnostic kit and associated in vitro methods of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and/or the predisposition to develop Alzheimer's disease. It covers the company's game-changing plasma-based technology that measures conformational changes in the p-53 pathway, targeting Unfolded p-53, which is over-expressed in Alzheimer's patients, and applies an analytical method that includes a proprietary antibody and target sequences developed by Diadem. A similar patent, EP 3 201 234 B1, issued in the European Union in 2018.

Mr. Kinnon commented, "Diadem plans to continue to aggressively protect our technology and products by filing further patents globally and prosecuting those currently in process. We believe our AlzoSure technology can help transform the prediction and treatment of early Alzheimer's disease, and we are committed to protecting the innovative intellectual property that makes the test possible."

Diadem's AlzoSure is a plasma-based biomarker test that has been validated in early studies to accurately predict the probability a patient with mild cognitive impairment will progress to Alzheimer's disease. Further clinical studies are underway, and the company plans a global launch in collaboration with strategic partners in 2021.  

For more information on the Gaetano Marzotto Prizes, visit www.premiogaetanomarzotto.it/en/homepage/

About Alzheimer's Disease
There are about 50 million people suffering from dementia worldwide. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form and accounts for 60-70% of cases. At present there are no disease modifying treatments for Alzheimer's, and therapies to treat symptoms are limited. There are about 10 million new cases per year, and the incidence is rising rapidly as the population ages. The current total cost of care is enormous--estimated at 1 trillion dollars in the U.S. annually and expected to double by 2030. Currently, diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is slow, inconclusive, invasive and expensive. Development of effective therapies for Alzheimer's  has been hindered by the lack of accurate and cost-effective diagnostic and prognostic methods.

About Diadem
Diadem was founded in 2012 as a spin-off of the University of Brescia (Italy). The company is developing the first blood-based prognostic test for the early detection of dementia, with a focus on Alzheimer's disease. The lack of accurate, accessible and affordable diagnostic tools is a major contributor to the absence  of effective treatments for this devastating condition. As a result, patients are not diagnosed until late in the illness, when effective treatment is no longer possible. Diadem's rapid, accurate, cost-effective and predictive blood-based prognostic test for the first time makes it possible to diagnose patients early in the disease process, when effective interventions and better outcomes are far more feasible. The utility of the approach has been demonstrated in early clinical studies. Additional retrospective and prospective clinical trials are planned to further validate clinical claims and support widespread adoption and use worldwide. Diadem's founding and lead investor is Milan-based Panakes Partners, a venture capital firm that finances promising high potential biomedical companies in Europe and Israel. Diadem is preparing for rapid commercialisation of its initial Alzheimer's prognostic via a global launch in collaboration with strategic partners, targeted for 2021. For more information, visit www.diademdx.com/

SOURCE Diadem srl