BGI, Roche roll out diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s in China

By Andrew Silver

SHANGHAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) – BGI Genomics and Roche Diagnostics have rolled out tests for Alzheimer’s disease in China, the companies said, in an effort to expand access to easier-to-use diagnosis and monitoring choices for patients with the brain-wasting condition. 

In a statement, BGI Genomics said doctors are using a blood test it developed as an auxiliary tool in Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Wuhan to evaluate the disease’s progression and the risk of onset.

Switzerland’s Roche also said in a statement that its team in China was working with a local regulatory authority to make its own test measuring pTau181, a key protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, available to patients in Boao, Hainan province.

The Roche test was put into clinical use at a hospital in Boao, the official Hainan Daily reported on Monday. Roche did not respond to questions related to the report. 

Blood tests could speed up diagnosis of the disease and make it easier to access treatments such as Biogen and Eisai’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla, since traditional tests are often costly or uncomfortable. 

Other options to detect Alzheimer’s include a spinal tap, which requires an invasive puncture to collect spinal fluid, or an expensive PET brain scan.

BGI Genomics said its test cannot be used as standalone evidence for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis and treatment, citing a possibility of a small number of failures, but doctors said it was helpful for early screening.

Roche said a negative test for pTau181 with its product meant “most people can avoid further unnecessary investigations for Alzheimer’s using CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) or PET and can be put on the appropriate pathway for their condition.”

(Editing by Miyoung Kim and Thomas Derpinghaus)