Oxford Brain Diagnostics

What Oxford Brain Diagnostics does

Oxford Brain Diagnostics Ltd (OBD), founded in 2019 and headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, is a diffusion MRI analytics company that has commercialised the proprietary Cortical Disarray Measurement (CDM) biomarker platform originally developed at the University of Oxford. The technology analyses the microstructure of cortical grey matter from standard diffusion MRI scans, surfacing cellular-level disarray that is invisible to conventional imaging and historically only assessable through post-mortem histology. The company's three product lines — CDM Insights (clinical diagnostic reporting), CDM Track (clinical-trial drug-efficacy monitoring) and CDM Select (patient stratification and disease-progression prediction for up to three years) — are all delivered as cloud-based services that integrate with healthcare PACS infrastructure, with results returned to clinicians within approximately 12 hours of scan upload. CDM PerpPD+, a next-generation diffusion analysis quantifying water-molecule motion perpendicular to cortical minicolumns, extends the platform's sensitivity for inflammatory and Parkinson's indications.

OBD operates a dual-track commercial model. On the clinical side, CDM Insights is sold to neurologists, radiologists and memory clinics as a quote-based enterprise SaaS product, monetising per-scan analysis for early detection and longitudinal monitoring of neurodegenerative disease. On the pharma/biotech side, CDM Track and CDM Select are positioned as translational imaging endpoints for clinical trials in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and related conditions, supporting patient stratification, drug-efficacy measurement and trial-cost reduction. The company pursues direct enterprise field sales, leveraging peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations (e.g., CTAD) and named-partner press releases as credibility channels. Distribution is global, with explicit commercial launches completed in both the United Kingdom (MHRA approval) and the United States (FDA 510(k) clearance for CDM Insights and FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for the underlying CDM technology) during 2025.

The business is venture-backed, with BGF and Oxford Investment Consultants (OTIF) holding board representation, and is led by founder-CEO Dr Steven Chance (formerly Associate Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford) alongside co-founder Professor Mark Jenkinson (architect of FSL, the leading academic MRI analysis suite) and a commercial executive team recruited from IQVIA, Perspectum and other diagnostics and CRO businesses. The company holds ISO 13485, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA certifications and is described as actively operating with a small but growing team (11–50 employees) located at the Oxford Centre for Innovation.

Name

Oxford Brain Diagnostics

Legal name

Oxford Brain Diagnostics Ltd

Website

https://oxfordbraindiagnostics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Oxford Brain Diagnostics develops proprietary Cortical Disarray Measurement (CDM) software that analyses diffusion MRI scans to detect and track neurodegenerative diseases. The Oxford-based company serves pharmaceutical clinical-trial sponsors and clinical healthcare providers via FDA-cleared and UK MHRA-approved products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Neurodegenerative Disease Diagnostics Software

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Companion Diagnostics (CDx) & Therapy Selection Assays (HLAAALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Companion Diagnostic (CDx) Co-Development Services (biopharma partnerships, clinical strategy) (HLAAAMAB), Companion Diagnostics (CDx) Development & Trial Testing Support (HLAGAEAJ), Companion Diagnostics (CDx) Development & Commercialization (HLAAANAC)

Keywords

• Diffusion MRI analysis
• Neurodegenerative diagnostics
• Brain imaging biomarkers
• Clinical trial imaging
• Cortical disarray measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. CDM Track - Clinical Trial Services: SaaS/analytical services for pharmaceutical and biotech companies conducting clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases. Provides MRI biomarker analysis to measure drug efficacy and support patient stratification.
2. CDM Insights - Clinical Diagnostics: Clinical diagnostic product enabling clinicians to evaluate MRI scans with microstructural analysis. Delivered as a cloud-based service with results typically available within 12 hours of scan upload.
3. CDM Select - Patient Stratification: Services for pharmaceutical companies to optimise patient selection for clinical trials through disease stage classification and progression prediction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Oxford Brain Diagnostics develops and commercialises Cortical Disarray Measurement (CDM), a proprietary diffusion MRI-based biomarker technology that analyses the cellular microstructure of the brain's cortical grey matter. It sells three cloud-delivered products on this platform: CDM Insights for clinical diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative conditions, CDM Track for monitoring disease progression and drug efficacy during clinical trials, and CDM Select for optimising patient stratification in trials.

Product overview

Oxford Brain Diagnostics offers a unified CDM® (Cortical Disarray Measurement) technology platform with three distinct products serving different market segments. For clinical use, CDM Insights provides clinicians with comprehensive brain health assessments by measuring microstructural changes in the cerebral cortex, cortical thickness, and regional volumes. For pharmaceutical and biotech clients, CDM Track enables monitoring of disease progression and drug efficacy during clinical trials, while CDM Select optimizes patient stratification and selection by predicting disease progression. All products leverage the proprietary CDM® technology that analyses diffusion MRI data to assess grey matter quality at the cellular level, previously only accessible through post-mortem analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CDM Insights: Clinical product providing microstructural analysis of the cerebral cortex for early detection and monitoring of neurodegenerative conditions.
• CDM Track
• CDM Select

Products and services

• CDM Insights FDA 510(k)-cleared clinical diagnostic product that analyses diffusion MRI scans to deliver a comprehensive brain health report including microstructural information on the cerebral cortex, cortical thickness, regional volumes, and white matter hyper-/hypointensity volume, typically returned to clinicians within 12 hours of scan upload. For clinicians, neurologists, radiologists, and memory clinics.
• CDM Track

Quantifiable outcome

• Predicts disease progression for up to 3 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AbbViecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2026Collaboration on groundbreaking research demonstrating that diffusion MRI can reveal microscopic 'disarray' in the brain's cortex years before traditional symptoms appear or standard MRI scans show any change. Study analysed 143 participants from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), focusing on individuals with GBA1 and LRRK2 genetic mutations.
• NeuroTherapiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026Oxford Brain Diagnostics is continuing MRI data analysis for NeuroTherapia's Phase 2a trial of NTRX-07, an oral therapy for Alzheimer's Disease. The collaboration involves more thorough analysis of MRI data from the trial which enrolled 48 patients across sites in Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
• CaladrixcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2026Partnership to incorporate CDM (Cortical Disarray Measurement) as a new translational imaging endpoint in Caladrix's Phase 1b Trial of C-001, an ABCC1 Activator, in Alzheimer's Disease. The collaboration integrates next-generation diffusion MRI biomarkers to visualise cortical microstructure and quantify neuroinflammation and neuronal disorganization in vivo.
• INmune BiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Using CDM PerpPD+, Oxford Brain Diagnostics' next-generation MRI imaging analysis, investigators observed trends towards slowed neurodegeneration progression in patients receiving XPro1595. Analyses focused on participants with early AD and high inflammatory burden (ADi), including the dose-compliant subgroup.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Perspectum: Oxford-originated MRI-based diagnostic software company offering quantitative imaging products (e.g., LiverMultiScan, MRCP+) for clinical and pharma use. Directly comparable SaaS model targeting pharma trial endpoints and clinical diagnostics with FDA-cleared imaging software.
• Imeka (Cerca Magnetics): Diffusion MRI-focused neuroimaging company with proprietary biomarkers (e.g., Along-Tract Diffusion Informative)-overlap analysis) for neurodegenerative and CNS drug development. Direct peer in diffusion MRI biomarkers for pharma/biotech clinical trials.
• Cerveau Technologies: Provides tau PET imaging biomarkers (MK-6240) to pharma for Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative clinical trials. Direct peer supplying imaging endpoints to the same pharma/biotech trial sponsors as OBD's CDM Track and CDM Select.
• C2N Diagnostics: Commercial-stage diagnostics company with FDA Breakthrough Designation for PrecivityAD blood-based Alzheimer's biomarker assay. Comparable as an Alzheimer's diagnostics company targeting both clinical and pharma/biotech trial use with regulatory and commercial validation.
• Invicro (a Real Chemistry company): Imaging CRO providing quantitative imaging biomarkers and trial support for CNS and oncology trials. Direct peer in pharma trial imaging endpoints, with comparable biomarker quantification services for neurodegeneration.
• Life Molecular Imaging: Developer of PET radiotracers (e.g., florbetaben, PI-2620) for neurodegenerative disease imaging, supplying pharma trial endpoints in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Comparable as a neuroimaging biomarker vendor for pharma/biotech clinical trials.

Broad incumbents

• Clario (formerly Bioclinica): Large imaging CRO serving pharma/biotech clinical trials across multiple therapeutic areas including neuroscience. Comparable as a clinical trial imaging services vendor but operating at much greater scale and across broader therapeutic indications.
• Quanterix: Public ultra-sensitive biomarker detection platform (Simoa) used across pharma trials and clinical diagnostics, including neurodegenerative disease research. Comparable as a broad biomarker platform serving pharma trial endpoints, though operating at much larger scale and across multiple indications.

Emerging players

• Altoida: Digital cognitive assessment and brain health platform using AR/smartphone-based digital biomarkers for early Alzheimer's detection. Comparable as an emerging neurodegenerative diagnostic with FDA Breakthrough Device Designation targeting clinical and pharma trial use.
• Linus Health: Digital brain health company combining cognitive assessments and MRI-based brain age analysis for early dementia detection. Comparable as an emerging neurodegenerative diagnostic targeting primary care and memory clinics, though with a different (largely non-imaging) technology core.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutu.be/22Svz08hgRA

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oxford Brain Diagnostics