LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Ixico strengthened its scientific advisory board on Monday, with the appointment of two leading global authorities in Alzheimer's and cerebrovascular disease, bolstering its strategy to expand biomarker innovation in dementia research.
The AIM-traded neuroscience imaging specialist said professors Michael Weiner and Joanna Wardlaw had joined its board with immediate effect, coinciding with its participation in the 18th CTAD conference, a major annual forum for Alzheimer's clinical research.

Weiner, a professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, is principal investigator of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, the world's largest observational study of the condition.

Wardlaw is professor of applied neuroimaging at the University of Edinburgh and director of the Row Fogo Centre for research into ageing and the brain, as well as a consultant neuroradiologist for NHS Lothian.

Ixico said the appointments would support the development of new biomarker algorithms targeted at identifying vascular abnormalities, which were increasingly recognised as contributing factors in neurodegenerative diseases.

The company said it was preparing a series of vascular imaging tools for use in clinical trials, noting their potential application beyond Alzheimer's to conditions such as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, stroke and multiple sclerosis.

Robin Wolz, Ixico's chief scientific officer, said the new advisors would play a critical role in advancing the firm's research efforts.

"It is exciting to be working with professor Weiner and professor Wardlaw reflecting Ixico's commitment to advancing the understanding of the interplay between Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular pathology," he said.

"By enabling more precise screening, a better understanding of the multiple factors and causes involved in disease, and providing sensitive measures of vascular burden throughout the trial, these biomarkers have the potential to significantly improve trial design and the interpretability of efficacy results."

Wolz added that the appointments marked "an important step in Ixico's strategy to broaden our biomarker innovation portfolio and deepen our engagement in Alzheimer's disease."

At 1400 GMT, shares in Ixico were down 4.55% at 10.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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