When the diagnostic test PrecivityAD hit the market in 2020, it revolutionized testing for the markers of Alzheimer’s disease. Not only was it less expensive and invasive than brain imaging and spinal fluid tests, the blood test helped more patients qualify for federally approved treatments for the disease.
“The only way that you can qualify to receive those treatments is if you are proven to have amyloid [plaques],” said Dr. David Holtzman, a Washington University professor and C2N Diagnostics co-founder. “The blood tests allow you to determine whether or not amyloid is in the brain, and with that knowledge, one could potentially get treated with one of the new disease modifying therapies.”
For their work developing the test, Holtzman and Dr. Randall Bateman, his Washington University colleague and company co-founder, will receive the 2026 American Innovator Award from the Bayh-Dole Coalition in Washington, D.C., on June 3.
Holtzman said the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 has been key to bringing innovative discoveries like PrecivityAD to the general public. The legislation allowed universities to retain ownership of inventions discovered through federally funded research…