ATED Therapeutics Wins Fierce Life Sciences Innovation Award for Breakthrough Parkinson’s Disease Diagnostic Test. (October 2025)
The new test can be used to identify pre-symptomatic patients with Parkinson’s and can monitor progression of the disease.
GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ATED Therapeutics Ltd. has been named the winner of the Fierce Life Sciences Innovation Award in the Medical Device Category, recognizing its rapid blood test for Parkinson’s Disease. The award honors ATED’s pioneering use of transfer RNA fragments (tRFs) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) to deliver fast, accurate, and scalable diagnostics for one of the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative conditions.
ATED’s platform enables early detection and monitoring of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) through a simple blood draw, analyzing tRF biomarkers that reflect disease-specific molecular changes. Results are available in under two hours, making the patented test suitable for neurology clinics, primary care settings, and population screening programs.
Parkinson’s disease affects an estimated 10-14 million people worldwide, and its prevalence is accelerating at a compound annual growth rate of 11.3%. This growth is being driven by aging populations and, in part, by rising exposure to pesticides and environmental toxins. Despite its global impact, early-stage diagnosis remains a major challenge — one that ATED’s technology is designed to overcome.
“This award validates our mission to transform neuro-diagnostics with precision, speed, and accessibility,” said Jeff R. Swarz Ph.D., CEO of ATED Therapeutics. “We’re honored to be recognized by Fierce Life Sciences and remain committed to advancing our pipeline of rapid diagnostics for Parkinson’s, Traumatic Brain Injury, and other neurological conditions.”
The Fierce Life Sciences Innovation Awards celebrate companies that demonstrate exceptional creativity, impact, and potential in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics.
ATED Therapeutics is preparing its FDA submission for the tRF-based Parkinson’s test in Q1 2026 and expanding clinical partnerships across the U.S. and Europe. The company’s broader diagnostic platform includes a saliva-based concussion test and a novel PD therapeutic aimed at slowing disease progression.
April 2025: ATED Therapeutics, Ltd.: New Rapid, Simple Blood Test for Parkinson’s Disease Developed
London Times, April 2025: £80 blood test could detect Parkinson’s disease before symptoms
April 2025: AD/PD International Conference, Vienna, Austria
PRE-SYMPTOMATIC BLOOD CELLS DIAGNOSIS OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE-ESCALATED MOTIF-SHARING TRANSFER RNA FRAGMENTS DECLINED UNDER DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION,
Dr. Hermona Soreq, Hebrew University
Abstract: Rapid, simple and reliable Parkinson’s disease (PD) blood tests may enable pre-symptomatic diagnosis and facilitate disease-changing treatments. Here, we report elevated levels in PD patients’ substantia nigra, cerebrospinal fluid and blood of PD-specific nuclear genome-originated tRNA fragments (PD-tRFs) carrying a conserved sequence motif. A dual whole blood RNA-based test using qPCR primers for elevated PD-tRFs and reduced mitochondrial-originated tRFs (MT-tRFs) successfully distinguished pre-symptomatic PD patients from controls, outperforming traditional clinical scoring (ROC-AUC of 0.86 vs. 0.73). Strengthening relevance to disease characteristics, symptomatic PD patients carrying PD-related mutations presented higher blood PD-tRFs/MT-tRFs ratios than mutations-carrying non-symptomatic individuals. Furthermore, PD-tRFs complementarity to ribosomal RNA and the translation-supporting LeuCAG3 tRF might escalate disease symptoms via ‘dual-lock’ translational inhibition. Correspondingly, PD-tRFs levels declined in patients’ blood following deep brain stimulation and their ribosomal association was disrupted in depolarized neuroblastoma cells. Our findings facilitate a sensitive, simple and safe blood test for pre-symptomatic PD.