Innovate UK has awarded four UK companies a share of £4m funding through Contracts for Innovation to support innovative research into dementia diagnosis, including Northern Ireland-based Cumulus Neuroscience.
The funding will enable organisations to evaluate blood-based and digital biomarkers as part of the Bio-Hermes-002 study. This international study is led by the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP), a leading research group based in the US.
This Innovate UK investment forms an important part of the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission, a government-led effort committed to realising a new generation of precision dementia therapies and solutions for the UK.
The Bio-Hermes-002 study, under GAP’s leadership, focuses on exploring digital and blood-based biomarkers that can predict the extent of tau and amyloid brain pathology as measured by positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging. These biomarkers have the potential to provide more efficient and less invasive alternatives to the current gold standard of dementia diagnosis, which relies on tau and amyloid PET scans.
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The study will engage an ethnically diverse cohort of 1k participants shown to be cognitively normal (CN), have mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or have mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s Diseases (AD) dementia. The participants are from across 30 sites in the UK, US, Canada and Europe.
Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, is a significant health and economic challenge globally. In the UK alone, dementia care costs are estimated at £25bn annually. With the global prevalence of dementia expected to triple by 2050, there is an urgent need for innovative diagnostic methods and treatments.
The ambition is to delay the onset of dementia and improve the quality of life for those affected. This aligns with the Chief Medical Officer’s 2023 report on ageing, emphasising the need to advance healthcare to address the growing burden of age-related diseases.
The Bio-Hermes-002 study is poised to significantly advance the understanding and diagnosis of dementia globally, with the ambition of more effective and less costly diagnostic methods. This initiative leverages the UK’s robust research ecosystem and ongoing investments to deliver life-changing innovations for dementia patients.
By fostering collaboration and providing funding that enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access the study, Innovate UK and GAP are taking crucial steps that will expedite dementia clinical trials by quickly identifying appropriate eligible patients. The lack of a simple, cost-effective method to identify patients is a major risk factor in the development of much needed new therapeutics for dementia.
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Hilary Evans, Dementia Mission Co-Chair and Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK said: "I’m delighted to see the Mission funding innovative biomarker research through Bio-Hermes-002 that will help transform how dementia is diagnosed.
"Despite dementia being a global health crisis, too many people are left waiting anxiously to get a diagnosis or will never even receive a formal diagnosis. Projects like Bio-Hermes-002 will help us find a cost-effective, faster and more accurate way to diagnose dementia than what is currently available.
"Diagnosing the disease in its earliest stages will be even more important if people are to access new first-of-a-kind treatments that are on the horizon and will also be vital to helping identify people who can be part in research.
"It’s also fantastic to see how the Mission is opening more opportunities for the UK to forge international collaborations, so we can be part of the world-leading effort in the fight against the devastation that dementia inflicts."
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