CORDIS

Dementia affects around 50 M people globally (mainly over 65 years old) and has high associated costs (~ $1 trillion per year). 60%-80% cases correspond to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), which is expected to continue increasing exponentially in the next decades. At present, there are several disease-modifying treatments for AD in development, but once approved they will demand an efficient early detection of the disease to be effective. PET is the gold standard for prompt detection of AD's biomarkers (e.g. beta-amyloid and tau proteins), but traditional scanners are very big and expensive and they do not allow wide-population screenings. Positrigo is a Swiss start-up, aiming to develop NeuroLF brain PET system, which is only a tenth of the price (reduced device, personnel and radiotracers costs) and a fifth of the size of traditional scanners. It will allow to meet the expected large increase in PET examinations in the incoming years (when new treatments are approved) and make brain scanning affordable for everyone. NeuroLF was developed with support from ETH Zurich, University of Zurich and University of Heidelberg, and thanks to decades of accumulated experience in particle physics from the team. The company also counts with world-class advisors for business and medical aspects. Our potential market, based on the need for Alzheimer’s diagnosis for population older than 50 years, gives us around 20 M scans per year only in USA and the EU. Moreover, 1 NeuroLF scanner working at full capacity represents savings of about $ 200.000 per year for healthcare. We have developed the first prototype and preliminary tested standard performance parameters, as well as initially established in-house manufacturing, defined a regulatory roadmap, contacted some key stakeholders and identified the needs on optimization, clinical validation and successful market launch. Now, to successfully begin NeuroLF commercialization, we need further funding and we are asking for support from the EC.