Pre-Conference Workshop Day
Tuesday, October 7
8:00 Check-In & Coffee
WORKSHOP A
9:00 P-tau217: Clinical Promise, Regulatory Hurdles & the Path to Surrogate Endpoint Status
Synopsis
Highlighted by the recent approval of the first in vivo blood test for Alzheimer’s Disease, advancements in new technologies to measure p-tau217 are at an all-time-high. Join this session for an inside look on how p-tau217 is setting the gold standard in AD diagnostics, exploring its scientific evolution, clinical impact, and regulatory breakthrough, offering a model for future biomarker development.
In this session:
- Explore the progression of phosphorylated Tau from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assays to more scalable and accessible blood-based tests
- Discuss the role of p-tau217 in enriching clinical trial populations and enabling more accurate disease staging and monitoring
- Examine current limitations, including questions around specificity, diagnostic breadth, and standardization
- Assess regulatory interest in p-tau217 as a potential surrogate endpoint and what is needed to achieve that designation
- Review lessons from recent clinical trials and biomarker validation efforts
- Identify ongoing research gaps and collaborative opportunities to accelerate adoption and approval
12:00 Lunch Break & Networking
WORKSHOP B
1:00 Alpha-Synuclein Biomarkers: Overcoming Biological Complexity to Transform Parkinson’s & Synucleinopathy Research
Synopsis
Exploring the evolving role of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s and related disorders, focusing on both its promise and its limitations. Delve into the challenges of using alpha-synuclein for patient stratification and monitoring in clinical trials, review cutting-edge blood-based and seed amplification assay technologies that aim to reduce reliance on imaging, and unpack the complex biology of protein aggregates.
In this session:
- Examine the role of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s and related synucleinopathies, and explore the key challenges limiting its use in clinical trial stratification and disease monitoring
- Evaluate emerging seed amplification assays and blood-based detection methods aiming to reduce reliance on invasive CSF collection or expensive imaging techniques for diagnosis and staging
- Discuss the biological complexity of protein aggregates and whether understanding their behaviour can provide insight beyond mere disease correlation – single particle proteomics