Revvity, Inc., announced today the launch of the in-vitro diagnostic EURORealTime™ APOE assay in European countries that accept the CE mark, which will enable accurate genotyping of the APOE gene. APOE genotyping is valuable to assess a patient’s risk for side effects prior to the start of an anti-amyloid (beta) therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.
With the introduction of new disease-modifying drugs for treating Alzheimer’s, a new era of therapy has begun for this incurable disease. However, it has been found that patients taking these treatments with a certain form of the APOE gene have a significant risk for developing potentially life-threatening side effects, called ARIA, referring to edema or micro bleedings in the brain. Being able to easily determine the APOE genotype of patients before starting therapy is key to assessing the individual risk for potential negative consequences."
Dr. Lars Komorowski, Chief Scientific Officer, EUROIMMUN
The real-time EURORealTime APOE PCR test allows simultaneous detection of the three most frequent APOE forms, designated E2, E3, and E4. Carriers of exclusively E4 exhibit the highest risk for ARIA under therapy. With the new test now available from Revvity’s EUROIMMUN, only one reaction is required using genomic DNA isolated from a single blood sample to determine the patient’s APOE genotype. The assay processing can be automated to scalable degrees on Revvity instruments, including the EUROIMMUN PreNAT II ™ and the chemagic™ 360 platforms. Results are evaluated, documented, and archived using the EURORealTime analysis software.
For clinicians treating Alzheimer’s patients, this approach to APOE genotyping will grant additional patient information and enable a more personalized approach to anti-amyloid (beta) treatment.