A Centre of Excellence to address a critical gap in tackling Alzheimer’s disease in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region was launched in Sydney today by the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, the Honourable Mark Butler MP.
Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and Roche Diagnostics Australia have announced the establishment of a unique collaboration to alleviate the burden of delayed and uncertain diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease.
The Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis will enable earlier and more accurate Alzheimer’s detection through advanced blood-based and spinal fluid biomarker testing, positioning NSW as a national hub for dementia diagnostics, clinical trials and research innovation.
Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia, affecting more than 446,500 people today and projected to exceed one million by 2065. The human, social and economic toll is immense, with annual costs already surpassing $4.7 billion and escalating pressure on families, clinicians and the broader health system. From a regional perspective, the Asia-Pacific region will carry more than 50% of the global dementia burden, further reinforcing the critical need for improved diagnostics and treatments, underpinning the goals of the NeuRA-Roche partnership. 1 2 3
Too many Australians are left without answers until their disease is advanced, limiting access to emerging treatments and the opportunity to plan for the future. It is estimated that up to 75 per cent of people living with Alzheimer’s Disease globally remain undiagnosed. 4
The Centre will utilise Roche’s blood-based and CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) biomarkers to identify pathological changes up to 20 years before clinical symptoms appear, including the presence of proteins it’s believed contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Earlier detection will allow for vital earlier intervention and possible access to medicines able to slow the disease’s progression. 5
The implementation of a blood test will also address questions of equity of access to diagnosis and then treatment for Australians living in remote or rural areas.
The Centre of Excellence will also serve as a key part of the three-way collaboration announced earlier this week between NeuRA, Roche and Eli Lilly Australia, to structure, implement and review a streamlined model-of-care pilot for Alzheimer’s diagnosis and treatment.
The Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis will be anchored by Roche’s proprietary processing technology, an industry-leading automated system renowned for its high throughput and precision. By integrating innovative new tests, the platform delivers results in minutes rather than weeks.
Roche has one of the first inclusions on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) for blood tests for Alzheimer’s Disease. Initially the Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis will process:
- pTau181 has a potential clinical utility to rule out Alzheimer’s pathology in people experiencing cognitive symptoms.
- pTau217 has a potential clinical utility to rule in or rule out Alzheimer’s pathology, delivering greater diagnostic specificity.
- ApoE4 has a potential clinical utility to determine a patients carrier status of ApoE4— the strongest known genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s Disease later in life.
“When it comes to Alzheimer’s, the real toll of a delayed diagnosis is measured in time lost for families. This Centre of Excellence is fundamentally about giving that time back. By pairing NeuRA’s brilliant clinical research with simple and non-invasive blood-based biomarker tests, we are giving doctors the tools to give patients a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer far earlier. Removing the fear and friction from the diagnostic journey is how we deliver real, meaningful impact to Australians living with cognitive decline,” said Anand Vairavan, Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics Australia.
Beyond processing ARTG included tests, a cornerstone of this partnership will be the strategic alignment of NeuRA’s world-class research expertise with Roche’s comprehensive Research Use Only portfolio. By evaluating emerging, high-potential biomarkers within a rigorous research framework, the Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis help validate the next generation of diagnostic tools — determining their clinical utility and readiness for the Australian healthcare system.
This collaborative engine can contribute to the future-proofing of Australia’s national diagnostic pathway, ensuring that as global scientific breakthroughs occur, Australia is uniquely positioned to rapidly transition innovations from the laboratory to the patient.
The Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis also establishes a framework tailored to the unique needs of our region. In 2024, NeuRA and collaborators published a regional roadmap to tackle the escalating challenge of dementia in Australia and the Western Pacific Region in The Lancet Regional Health — Western Pacific journal.
While the region accounts for 20 per cent of the world’s population, research estimates it will account for more than 50 per cent of global dementia cases by 2050. The Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence directly addresses this trajectory, generating data and protocols that can inform health policy and clinical guidelines across the Asia-Pacific, driving a regional standard of care that prioritises brain health and early intervention. 6
“Having regulatory approval of these blood tests is a new frontier for Alzheimer’s care, and I am incredibly excited that we will be able to analyse those tests at NeuRA,” said Professor Matthew Kiernan AM, NeuRA CEO.
“But beyond that, as Roche develops diagnostic tools across the span of neurodegenerative disease, it’s at NeuRA where they can be tested and validated for the Asia-Pacific region, delivering a new era of personalised, precise clinical care.”
