Breakthrough in Parkinson's Diagnosis: Sunbird Bio Scores with New Technology

Sunbird Bio has released new promising data showing that its diagnostic technology is capable of classifying blood samples of Parkinson's patients with an accuracy of 86%. This was achieved through the direct detection of aggregated alpha-synuclein proteins, a critical indicator of Parkinson's disease. The results of this study were presented at the "Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease" (CTAD) conference in Madrid. The study investigated whether extracellular vesicle-bound alpha-synuclein proteins can serve as reliable markers for detecting alpha-synuclein in the brain. Currently, there is no approved blood test for Parkinson's, although the aggregation of alpha-synuclein in the brain is known to be a hallmark of the disease. In the study, blood samples from 16 Parkinson's patients and 24 healthy controls were collected to evaluate Sunbird's tests. While markers based on unbound, soluble alpha-synuclein failed, the marker that is bound to brain-derived vesicles was able to reliably identify Parkinson's cases with 86% accuracy. Sunbird Bio's founder, Huilin Shao, emphasized that these results not only support the detection of Parkinson's but could also aid in identifying other neurological disorders associated with alpha-synuclein aggregation, such as Alzheimer's. Sunbird Bio plans to conduct further clinical trials to further evaluate the potential of its technology. The company, which is based in both Massachusetts and Singapore, raised 14 million USD last month, supported by Eli Lilly and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDBI). These funds are intended to be used for establishing a new laboratory and conducting additional clinical studies by early 2025. Sunbird has an active pipeline in the field of blood-based tests for various neurological biomarkers. Interestingly, researchers from University College London announced in June 2024 that they have developed a test capable of identifying Parkinson's with 100% accuracy. This test is based on the analysis of eight proteins in the blood regarded as early markers and uses artificial intelligence to refine the test. Efforts are currently underway to further validate this test for use in research and clinical settings.