Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome

What Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome does

ABC-DS is a multi-institutional research consortium established in 2018 to identify and longitudinally track biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome. The consortium runs a 5-year study following adult volunteers with Down syndrome and sibling controls through brain scans (MRI, amyloid-PET, tau-PET, FDG-PET), blood-based biomarker assays (proteomics, metabolomics, plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, tau, neurofilament light chain, and CSF markers where available), genetic studies, cognitive and functional assessments, and a brain donation program for post-mortem neuropathology. Data are released to qualified scientific investigators through a formal committee review process, with data managed by the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) and biospecimens distributed through the National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD).

The consortium is coordinated by the University of Pittsburgh (Dr. Ben Handen) with multi-PI leadership shared with the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Dr. Brad Christian) and the University of California, Irvine (Drs. Elizabeth Head and Mark Mapstone). Operations span nine sites across the United States and the United Kingdom (Cambridge), enrolling adults with Down syndrome aged 25+ and their sibling controls at 16, 32, and 48 month follow-up intervals. As of the latest data, ABC-DS has enrolled 519 participants (target 550 + 50 controls), completed 946+ imaging scans, received 265 research project data requests, and generated 133 publications.

ABC-DS is funded entirely by National Institutes of Health grants (U19AG068054, U01 AG051406, U01 AG051412) under the sponsorship of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the INCLUDE trans-NIH program. ABC-DS is not a commercial enterprise and does not sell a product; rather, its outputs are publicly funded research data and biospecimens made available to the scientific community to accelerate Alzheimer's research in the Down syndrome population, where roughly 70% of adults with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's disease during their lifetime.

Name

Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome

Legal name

Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome

Website

https://abc-ds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ABC-DS is an NIH-funded multi-institutional research consortium running a 5-year longitudinal study to identify Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in adults with Down syndrome, serving the DS-AD scientific research community with shared imaging, fluid, genetic, and cognitive data across nine US and UK sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alzheimer's Disease and Down Syndrome Clinical Research

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomarker Discovery & Validation (omics, assay feasibility, clinical validation) (HLAAAMAA)

Keywords

• Alzheimer's biomarker research
• Down syndrome research
• Longitudinal neuroimaging study
• Fluid biomarker assays
• Clinical research consortium

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. NIH Research Funding: ABC-DS is supported by federal research grants from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the INCLUDE program. The study is a 5-year research project.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels11 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ABC-DS conducts a 5-year longitudinal research study tracking Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in adults with Down syndrome through brain scans (MRI, amyloid/tau/FDG-PET), blood-based biomarker assays, cognitive and functional testing, genetic analysis, caregiver questionnaires, and a brain donation program. The consortium recruits participants at 9 research sites in the US and UK and provides qualified scientific researchers access to de-identified clinical, cognitive, neuroimaging, and biospecimen data via the LONI platform and NCRAD repository following committee review.

Product overview

The Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) is a 5-year longitudinal research initiative offering qualified investigators access to comprehensive data and biospecimens from approximately 519 enrolled adults with Down syndrome. The core offering consists of the ABC-DS Research Data and Biospecimen Access service, which provides a unified data access platform through LONI (Laboratory of Neuro Imaging). The study collects multi-modal data including cognitive and functional measures, blood-based biomarkers (proteomics, metabolomics, Aβ peptides, tau, neurofilament), neuroimaging (MRI, amyloid-PET, tau-PET, FDG-PET), genetic studies, caregiver questionnaires, and medical/neurological assessments. Biospecimens including DNA, plasma, serum, and CSF are managed through NCRAD (National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias). Data is released to approved researchers following a committee review process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ABC-DS Research Data and Biospecimen Access A longitudinal research data and biospecimen access program that provides qualified scientific investigators access to clinical, cognitive, neuroimaging, and biomarker data (fluid and imaging), as well as biological samples including DNA, plasma, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid from adults with Down syndrome, distributed through the LONI platform and NCRAD repository following committee review.

Quantifiable outcome

• 946+ scans completed including 381 MRIs, 277 Tau PETs, and 288 Amyloid PETs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cambridge UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner contributing to the ABC-DS study through the Defeating Dementia in Down's Syndrome (DiDS) Group. Partners include world-class research institutions advancing DS-AD research.
• Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution for the ABC-DS research consortium, contributing to the investigation of Alzheimer's biomarkers in Down syndrome.
• New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner contributing expertise in developmental disabilities to the ABC-DS study.
• Massachusetts General HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvard Medical School affiliate and partner in the ABC-DS research consortium, contributing clinical research expertise.
• University of California, IrvinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead institution with Drs. Elizabeth Head and Mark Mapstone as multi-PI leads. Home to the California National Primate Research Center and contributes significant neuroimaging and biomarker expertise.
• University of KentuckycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution through the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging & Kentucky Neuroscience Institute, contributing to Alzheimer's research in Down syndrome.
• University of PittsburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordinating Center for ABC-DS, led by Dr. Ben Handen. Houses the Biostatistics and Data Management Core and serves as the main administrative hub for the study.
• University of Wisconsin-MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution led by Dr. Brad Christian, co-PI of the study. Home to the Waisman Center for developmental disability research.
• Washington University in St. LouiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution contributing to the ABC-DS research network, bringing expertise in neuroimaging and Alzheimer's research.
• National Down Syndrome SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner supporting outreach and advocacy efforts for the Down syndrome community as part of the ABC-DS program.
• Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI)coreTechnology or IntegrationData management partner that receives, harmonizes, documents and de-identifies ABC-DS data. Approved investigators access data through the LONI platform.
• National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD)coreTechnology or IntegrationBiospecimen repository partner managing distribution of DNA, plasma, and serum samples from approved data requests.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• C2N Diagnostics: Commercial developer of blood-based biomarker assays (e.g., PrecivityAD for Aβ42/40 ratio) closely aligned to the proteomics/Aβ peptide biomarker work ABC-DS performs — a likely downstream commercial translation partner for consortium findings.
• LuMind IDSC Foundation: Down syndrome-focused research and advocacy funder that supports DS-AD translational research, including trials and biomarker studies — a natural partner/peer for outreach and downstream clinical translation of ABC-DS findings.

Direct peers

• Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI): Large-scale, multi-site, NIH-funded longitudinal biomarker study (MRI, PET, fluid, cognitive) tracking Alzheimer's disease progression — the closest structural analog to ABC-DS but in the general population rather than the Down syndrome population.
• Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN): Multi-site longitudinal consortium studying autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's with biomarker and clinical assessments, run partly through Washington University in St. Louis (also an ABC-DS partner) — comparable in design, scale, and NIH sponsorship to ABC-DS.
• Alzheimer's Biomarker Consortium — Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) Project/ADNI-DS joint effort: NIA-coordinated Down syndrome Alzheimer's biomarker research portfolio including ADNI-DS predecessor work; directly comparable longitudinal DS-AD biomarker effort supported by overlapping NIH Institutes and infrastructure.
• AHEAD Study (AHEAD A3/A45): NIH-funded, multi-site longitudinal Alzheimer's biomarker and prevention trial program with similar plasma/PET/MRI endpoints and pre-symptomatic cohort design to ABC-DS; comparable in translational ambition and longitudinal scale.
• Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's (A4) Study: Pre-symptomatic AD biomarker-and-treatment longitudinal study with similar multi-site, multi-modal (PET amyloid, cognitive) architecture and NIH sponsorship as ABC-DS, although focused on the general older-adult population.

Others

• National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD): Centralized biospecimen repository already integrated with ABC-DS for DNA/plasma/serum distribution; an enabling infrastructure peer rather than a competing study.
• Alzheimer's Association: Major funder/convener of Alzheimer's research including Down syndrome AD work, analogous in ecosystem role to NIH and a co-stakeholder for any therapy, biomarker-qualification, or policy effort ABC-DS data informs.

Broad incumbents

• Quanterix: Established ultrasensitive biomarker platform (Simoa) used widely in Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative plasma biomarker research, including the type of proteomics/NfL/tau assays central to ABC-DS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/abc_ds_
• Facebookfacebook.com/ABCDS100
• Instagraminstagram.com/abc_ds_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome