EU Commission backs Hungarian firm’s blood test for early Alzheimer detection

The European Commission’s Innovation Radar has labeled the Alzheimer-focused blood test created by Szeged’s Pharmacoidea Kft. as “market-ready” and assigned it a “very high” market-creation rating. The diagnostic aims to detect early disease processes by measuring the Syndecan-3 biomarker in blood, enabling identification of high-risk individuals before symptoms appear. The initiative was a joint effort of Pharmacoidea, the University of Szeged, the Szeged Biological Research Centre and Lissé Kft.

Earlier studies examined cell-surface proteoglycans linked to protein aggregates in neurodegeneration, providing the basis for the Syndecan-3 assay. Development proceeds within the EU-funded PREDICTOM project under Horizon Europe, which seeks cost-effective tools for early dementia risk detection. The Commission highlighted next steps: preparing market entry, securing necessary capital and expanding market opportunities.