The advancement in ultra-sensitive immunoassays and highly specific immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry (IPMS) methods, complimented by an increasing number of well-characterised research cohorts adhering to a biological definition of disease, have substantially contributed to the rapid development of reliability quantifying key targets in blood plasma or serum samples. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), measures of phosphorylated tau (p-tau), particularly p-tau217, have now shown great utility in identifying cerebral pathology at all stages of the disease continuum. Thus, it is anticipated that plasma p-tau217 will be an important component of patient management and treatments decisions related to AD. Yet, there remains a multitude of biomarker applications in AD, and related disorders, where plasma p-tau217 may not be fully sufficient. Therefore, a new period of proteomic biomarker discovery has begun, centered around p-tau, NfL, and GFAP, to address these needs.
This session will briefly overview the rapid development of blood biomarkers for AD, with a focus on phosphorylated tau. The talk will then highlight areas of need in biomarkers development, in the era of disease-modifying trials. We will conclude by looking at the capabilities of NULISA at the singleplex and multiplex level, and case-studies in how this novel technology may begin to address new biomarkers challenages that are emerging.
CSO
Dr. Willams serves as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. He was previously Chief Medical Officer at Standard Biotools and at SomaLogic where he pioneered the discipline for discovery and validation of predictive, diagnostic and prognostic models using machine-learning applied to large-plex proteomics. 20 such tests were used for drug characterization, safety and efficacy when incorporated in clinical drug trials at Pharma/Biotech and 17 different multivariate tests were validated and translated into regulated healthcare uses. Prior to SomaLogic, Dr. Williams was at Pfizer in the UK and the USA as a clinical triallist in Translational Medicine, and subsequently as VP, Global Clinical Technology. He sat on the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the Executive Committee for the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium, and worked with FDA and PhRMA on developing evidentiary standards for biomarker qualification. Dr. William’s medical training was in London, at Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, followed by a PhD in medicine/physiology at the same institution and training in Radiology at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Steve is co-inventor on 26 proteomics patents and author/coauthor on multiple foundational proteomics manuscripts.
CFO
Mr. McAnear serves as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. He brings over 25 years of operational and financial leadership experience across various sectors and was instrumental in taking 10x Genomics public in 2019, serving as its CFO for over five years. Mr. McAnear served for over 3 years as Tesla’s VP of Worldwide Finance and Operations, supporting landmark initiatives such as the Model X and Model 3 launches and Solar City acquisition. He also held various roles at Apple and J&J earlier in his career and served as a naval officer and aviator for over 9 years.