On 3 June, partners of the FluiDx-AD project met online for their General Assembly meeting to review progress across the project’s work packages (WP) and discuss the next steps towards improving the early diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). FluiDx-AD is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and is developing an innovative trio of biomarker-based tests that work complementarily and sequentially along the AD diagnostic journey.
The meeting opened with welcoming remarks from Chairman of Pre Diagnostics and FluiDx-AD Scientific Coordinator, Ole Petter Ottersen. This was followed by a project overview and update on scientific progress from Project Coordinator Ira Haraldsen (Oslo University Hospital) and Erik Christensen (Pre Diagnostics). Ira Haraldsen also delivered a keynote lecture on the future of biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease research, providing partners with an overview of recent developments and emerging trends in the field.
Scientific updates from across the project followed throughout the day. Ira Haraldsen presented progress on WP1-2, which focus on building a unified, anonymised clinical and biomarker database through a secure Services for Sensitive Data (SSD) cloud platform. Praveen Sharma (HemoDx) outlined developments in WP3–5, dedicated to the SalivaDx-AD test, an at-home saliva-based screening tool designed to identify individuals at risk of developing AD in its prodromal stages. Erik Christensen (Pre Diagnostics) reported on WP6–8 and the development of PlasmaDx-AD, a minimally invasive and cost-effective blood test for high-precision confirmatory diagnosis of AD. Maria Donate (Pre Diagnostics) presented updates on WP9–10 and BloodCellDx-AD, a whole-blood test being developed to assess the risk of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) before (patient stratification) and during (patient monitoring) Alzheimer’s disease immunotherapy. Partners also received updates on the project’s communication, dissemination and Public Involvement activities. Cindy Birck (Alzheimer Europe) highlighted recent communication and dissemination achievements, while Faye Forsyth (Alzheimer Europe) provided an overview of Public Involvement activities, including the work of the Public Advisory Board and a systematic review examining ethical and social aspects related to the project. Masha Tippersma (Medip Analytics) presented progress on WP14–16, focusing on the development of the project’s health economic analysis dashboard, before Ira Haraldsen concluded the meeting with project management updates. The General Assembly also featured an exploitation workshop led by Marte Sødal (Pre Diagnostics) and Håkon Sæterøy (Pre Diagnostics/HemoDx).
The meeting demonstrated the progress made across all work packages. Having successfully completed our first periodic report, we have now entered Reporting Period 2. A big thank you to all partners for their continued commitment. We look forward to the exciting milestones ahead as we continue to advance the FluiDx-AD project and work towards improving the early diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease.
