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The Bio ReportAuthor: Levine Media Group
The Bio Report podcast, hosted by award-winning journalist Daniel Levine, focuses on the intersection of biotechnology with business, science, and policy. Language: en Genres: Business, Life Sciences, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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An Effort to Detect and Treat Alzheimer’s at Its Earliest Stages
Episode 156
Wednesday, 7 January, 2026
One of the challenges in treating the neurodegenerative condition Alzheimer’s disease is intervening early enough in the course of illness to provide meaningful benefit. AltPep is developing therapeutics with companion diagnostics that target toxic α-sheet–containing oligomers, which are thought to form very early in the disease and act as molecular triggers of downstream amyloid pathology. These structures are believed to represent some of the earliest detectable stages of Alzheimer’s and to promote the formation of amyloid plaques, a hallmark feature of the condition. We spoke with Valerie Daggett, founder and CEO of AltPep, about the relationship between α-sheet oligomers and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, how the company’s synthetic peptides are designed to bind and neutralize these pathogenic agents, and the potential for this platform to be extended to a broader set of amyloid diseases.
