Circular Genomics Unveils Blood-Based Circular RNA Biomarkers for Early Alzheimer's Disease Detection
Key Insights
Circular Genomics (search) will present new clinical data at CTAD 2025 demonstrating circular RNAs (search) as novel blood biomarkers for early Alzheimer's disease (search) detection.
The company's circRNA platform can predict progression to symptomatic Alzheimer's in cognitively normal individuals and distinguish AD dementia from non-AD dementias.
Unlike traditional biomarkers, circular RNAs (search) are highly stable and provide insights into multiple disrupted disease pathways including neuroinflammation and amyloid (search)/tau (search) pathology.
Circular Genomics (search) announced new findings from its Alzheimer's disease (search) program will be presented at the 18th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) Conference on December 3, 2025, in San Diego. The clinical data highlights circular RNAs (search) (circRNAs) as a novel, non-invasive blood biomarker platform for the early detection of Alzheimer's Disease, demonstrating that circRNAs offer comprehensive insights into the multiple disrupted disease pathways central to AD's biology and pathology.
Revolutionary Biomarker Platform
Circular RNAs (search) are non-coding RNAs that are enriched in the brain and dysregulated in neurodegenerative diseases (search). Unlike linear RNA or protein biomarkers, circRNAs are highly stable and modulate critical AD biologic and pathogenic pathways, including neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, neural plasticity, synaptic dysfunction, and amyloid (search)/tau (search) pathology. This unique molecular signature supports the platform's potential for use across the entire spectrum of the disease, from preclinical stages through established dementia.
Circular Genomics (search)' platform integrates advanced transcriptomics from whole blood to generate advanced models of AD disease risk and progression based on disease-specific circRNA signatures. The approach represents a significant step forward in shifting AD diagnosis from a late-stage reactive assessment to an early stage proactive identification of disease biology and pathology.
Clinical Data Presentation
The CTAD presentation will feature data from a large well-characterized AD clinical cohort, including prediction models for clinical status tested against CSF, Amyloid (search) PET, and plasma biomarker positivity. The research demonstrates the ability of a circRNA signature to predict progression to symptomatic AD in cognitively normal individuals and shows the specificity of the circRNA signature for AD dementia compared to non-AD dementias.
"The collaboration with Dr. Carlos Cruchaga has been truly groundbreaking. We have successfully identified a robust blood circRNA biomarker signature that is best-in-class at detecting Alzheimer's biology and pathology across the entire disease continuum representing a transformative pathway to significant improvements over existing standard-of-care methods," said Nikolaos Mellios, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Circular Genomics (search).
Clinical Impact and Future Applications
Mellios emphasized that circular RNAs (search) are brain-derived, highly stable, and measurable biomarkers in blood, providing an unprecedented, real-time window into brain health. This precision neurology approach, leveraging the unique insights from circRNA, is critical to facilitating early diagnosis and treatment for Alzheimer's.
By providing an accurate, accessible, and specific molecular assessment of the disease, physicians can be empowered to identify patients at the earliest stages of the disease—even before symptoms appear—and match them with appropriate preventative interventions or disease-modifying therapies, fundamentally changing the trajectory of this devastating neurological disorder.
Company Background
Circular Genomics (search) is the world-leading developer of circular RNA-based precision medicine tools, data and diagnostics for precision neurology and psychiatry. Leveraging exclusive licenses and pioneering technologies in circular RNA, the company aims to reshape the standard of care for the early identification of neurological and psychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (search), Parkinson's disease (search), major depressive disorder (search), and bipolar disorder (search). Initial products include assays to assess and tailor optimal patient management care pathways resulting in more personalized and effective delivery of care.