IXICO PLC (LSE:IXI, OTC:PHYOF), the London-based neuroscience imaging group, has brought two of the world’s best-known dementia researchers on to its scientific advisory board as it steps up work on new vascular biomarkers used in drug trials.
The company said the appointments of Professor Michael Weiner and Professor Joanna Wardlaw were being announced at this year’s Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference, which opens today.
The annual meeting is one of the main gatherings for researchers studying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions.
Weiner, a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, is best known as principal investigator of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.
This is described by IXICO as the largest observational study in the world focused on Alzheimer’s. Wardlaw, from the University of Edinburgh, is a leading authority on neuroimaging and cerebrovascular disease, and also serves as a Consultant Neuroradiologist for NHS Lothian.
IXICO specialises in analysing brain scans and other biomarkers for pharmaceutical companies running clinical trials.
Much of this work involves interpreting magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, which uses strong magnetic fields to create detailed images of the brain, and positron emission tomography, or PET, which detects metabolic or molecular changes that can signal disease.
The company said the two new advisers would support an expansion of its research into vascular biomarkers, measures that help identify abnormalities in the brain’s blood vessels.
These abnormalities are frequently seen alongside Alzheimer’s and can influence how the disease progresses. IXICO is already offering the first of a planned series of vascular biomarker algorithms to clients in ongoing trials, with more scheduled to follow this financial year.
Robin Wolz, the group’s chief scientific officer, said: “It is exciting to be working with Professor Weiner and Professor Wardlaw, reflecting IXICO's commitment to advancing the understanding of the interplay between Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular pathology.
Collaborating with distinguished experts in the field directly supports our work to develop and validate vascular biomarker algorithms that address a critical gap in current AD trials.
“By enabling more precise screening, a better understanding of the multiple factors and causes involved in disease, and providing sensitive measures of vascular burden throughout the trial, these biomarkers have the potential to significantly improve trial design and the interpretability of efficacy results.
"These appointments mark an important step in IXICO's strategy to broaden our biomarker innovation portfolio and deepen our engagement in Alzheimer's disease.”