DiaGenic ASA (OSE:DIAG) and Ferrer inCode today announced that they have signed a distribution agreement for the blood-based ADtect^® test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease covering a total of 32 countries. The agreement gives Ferrer inCode, a biotech subsidiary of Grupo Ferrer Internacional, the exclusive right to sell and market ADtect^® initially in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal followed by Latin America.

“The agreement is an important add-on to our distribution agreements for Europe. Ferrer is a strong player within the CNS field and has a large sales force in the major markets in Europe and Latin America with competence within both pharma and molecular diagnosis”, said Morten Sten Johansen, DiaGenic’s International Business Director. “The agreement represents strong recognition of DiaGenic’s work and creates a solid commercial platform for DiaGenic’s growth”.

ADtect^® uniquely uses peripheral blood as the sample material to provide early non-invasive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. “Early detection enables subsequent early initiation of active management strategies, which may preserve the patients’ level of function for longer and increases the chances of delaying the progression of the disease”, said DiaGenic CEO Erik Christensen, M.D., Ph.D. “Current evidence suggests that pharmacological treatments and caregiver interventions can delay entry into nursing homes, thus reducing healthcare costs. However, these cost savings are not being realized because many patients with Alzheimer’s disease are either not diagnosed or diagnosed at a late stage of the disease. We envisage ADtect^® with its rapid and convenient sample collection playing a front line role.”

“As front runners in the field of personalized medicine, we are delighted to offer ADtect to professionals and patients in our core markets. The field of CNS is fast moving and we will continue to see important developments within treatment and medical care of Alzheimer patients. Therefore we strongly believe in an easy to use and non-invasive test such as ADtect which can provide early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and thereby improve quality of life”, said Alfredo Gracia M.D., Ph.D, Ferrer inCode’s Chief Scientific Officer.

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