Medicortex Finland Launches Funding Round in Order to Develop a Diagnostic Test for Brain Injury

Currently in the human proof-of-concept stage, Medicortex is seeking an investment to support the fast evaluation of a TBI biomarker from human samples.

4/12/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET) -- Medicortex Finland Oy, a start-up biotechnology company focused on the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative conditions, has recently launched a funding round and is seeking investors to help fund research and development of diagnostic test for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The company aims to identify a brain biomarker and on this basis, develop a diagnostic test for the evaluation of presence and severity of the brain injuries. The Company's other mission is to develop a drug that would limit the long-term effects of brain injury, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Numerous studies show that even one mild brain injury, also called concussions, can lead to long-term neurodegeneration, which can manifest as sleep disturbance, concentration problems, nausea, and seizures. When left untreated, these symptoms can develop into more severe neurodegenerative conditions, such as premature Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases. As a result of repeated head trauma, many football players, boxers, and ice hockey players suffer from impaired memory and early-onset dementia.

The insidious and devastating consequences of brain injury result from the cascade of physiological events that follow the initial trauma. In the hours, days, and weeks after TBI, the increased permeability of the neuronal membrane allows for an excessive influx of metal ions and circulating free radicals into the brain. These cause a series of protein degradation cascades and oxidation, leading to widespread molecular damage and neuronal cell death. In short, the damage expands and permanent neurodegeneration takes place if the injury is left untreated. Unfortunately, no drug or proper diagnostic test exist for brain injury sufferers.

The people most likely to suffer from traumatic brain injury include, among others, soldiers, athletes and sports professionals and teenagers. The incidence rate is estimated to be 262 per 100,000 annually, but the true incidence might be even higher because of the overall unawareness of the condition and lack of proper brain injury diagnostics.

Medicortex Finland is working towards the identification of a brain injury biomarker and incorporating it into a quick and reliable diagnostic kit that can be easily used by the first responders and healthcare professionals, but also by people with no medical profession. The ideal kit will not only diagnose the presence of brain injury, but it will also quantify the severity of injury so that the recovery can be monitored. In the future, the kit will advance the drug development that will again alleviate or even arrest the long-term neurodegeneration after brain injury.

Medicortex Finland, currently in the human proof-of-concept stage, is seeking private investments to support the fast evaluation of a biomarker in human samples.

About Medicortex

Medicortex Finland Oy is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing diagnostics and treatments for acute neurodegenerative conditions, including brain injury. One of the company's missions is to characterize a new biomarker in order to reliably assess the severity and extent of TBI. Medicortex was founded by Dr. Adrian Harel in Turku, Finland, in 2014 and it operates as a privately owned company. Dr. Harel has a track record in business management and leadership of early-stage drug discovery companies.