Adlyfe Inc. is involved in development of novel technologies for blood testing for early targets of amyloid diseases. Adlyfe is developing a novel test for the detection and amplification of amyloid proteins as early biomarkers of fatal brain diseases. The firm's technology is based on the synthesis of small peptide ligands (PronucleonTM ligands) which are amino acid sequence matched to target amyloids of interest. Ligand sequences are selected based on regions of the target protein known to undergo conformational changes associated with amyloid formation. Ligand sequence selection is the basis for our assay specificity. The interaction of the target amyloid protein with our proprietary ligands induces the ligands to undergo a conformational change that transduces a fluorescent signal. Further amplification of the signal is generated as additional ligands are nucleated to undergo conformational changes. This is the basis for Adlyfe's sensitivity and ability to detect very low amyloid protein levels before symptoms occur. The firm is recently focused on developmen of a simple blood test that would be given at the earliest sign of symptoms of Alzheimer's disease . Adlyfe will begin testing its diagnostic tool for the degenerative disease, hoping to apply for European approval in two years, American and Canadian approval a year later and a product launch in 2009. If successful, Adlyfe's diagnostic test would be the first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for detecting Alzheimer's disease, although other companies are scrambling to beat it to market. Testing blood samples for specific abnormally folding proteins - could provide a cheaper, easier and earlier diagnosis that tests that search for a different protein biomarker within cerebrospinal fluid.been relying solely on more than $6 million in government contracts. Adlyfe spun off the company's blood platelet-freezing technology that helps stem bleeding. Adlyfe has zeroed in on Alzheimer's after its similar diagnostic tests for other human degenerative diseases, namely mad cow disease and sheep scrapie, slid out of headlines and off political agendas.
