NuroPro Parkinson's Disease Diagnostic Blood Test

Current Status:  The Parkinson’s disease application of the NuroPro^® Blood Test has completed proof-of-concept and Phase 1 clinical validation studies.  Amarantus is preparing the Phase 2 validation study required to gain Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification. Upon CLIA certification, the Company intends to begin the commercial sale of the NuroPro Parkinson’s Disease Blood Test.

The NuroPro Blood Test is Amarantus’ diagnostic platform for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases. It is being developed as a tool to assist physicians to more accurately diagnose disease and monitor progression. The platform involves monitoring the concentration of 57 protein markers in blood serum identified to be linked to neurodegeneration in order to accurately detect and distinguish between Alzheimer’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and Parkinson’s disease. Amarantus’ license is focused on the further development of a subset of 21 of these protein markers specifically targeting early diagnosis and ongoing monitoring of Parkinson’s disease. Given the length of time it takes to accurately diagnose Parkinson’s disease and the relatively high early misdiagnosis rates, the development of a blood-based biomarker test is likely to generate significant interest among neurologists and primary care physicians as it will allow them to intervene at an earlier stage in disease progression.