NGeneBio said on Wednesday that it agreed to acquire technology from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) and Konyang University to diagnose and monitor degenerative brain diseases based on liquid biopsy.

Accordingly, the company hopes to commercialize the diagnostic platform and biomarkers secured through additional clinical studies. 

The company said it plans to develop products that can classify and diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an early stage by combining the recently acquired technology with its existing diagnostic technologies for Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disease in which abnormal proteins build up in the brain, causing nerve cells to slowly die, resulting in memory loss and cognitive impairment. In particular, there is no cure, making early and accurate diagnosis and treatment essential.

Biomarkers such as amyloid-beta peptide and phosphorylated tau proteins are commonly used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, but collecting cerebrospinal fluid from patients to test for these biomarkers is an uncomfortable experience.

Therefore, research and commercialization of biomarkers that can be tested in the blood are currently being investigated to minimize the burden on patients.

The technology secured in this study measures the increase of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the blood of dementia patients which provides an alternative method for early diagnosis of degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

"The demand for early diagnosis of dementia is growing rapidly for therapeutic and biomarker research as dementia becomes increasingly difficult to treat after symptoms appear," said NGeneBio CEO Choi Dae-chul. "We plan to commercialize a product that can be easily diagnosed through blood and monitored for prognosis by synergizing our dementia-related diagnostic technology with liquid biopsy technology."