Sunbird Bio shared fresh data showing that its blood-based diagnostic test, sunbird αSyn assay, reliably identified Parkinson’s disease by detecting aggregated, extracellular-vesicle (EV)–bound alpha-synuclein in blood.
In a study spanning three independent clinical cohorts—including patients with early-stage and symptomatic Parkinson’s plus healthy controls—the assay achieved an overall classification accuracy of 81%, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.814. Researchers emphasized that only the EV-bound aggregated form of alpha-synuclein yielded robust differentiation; tests based on the soluble (unbound) form scored poorly.
Sunbird described the findings as a major step toward a non-invasive, blood-based diagnostic for Parkinson’s—a disease currently diagnosed largely via clinical evaluation. The company says this test could help with earlier detection, better patient stratification in clinical trials, and more accessible disease monitoring.
Given the lack of any approved blood-based diagnostic for Parkinson’s today, the sunbird αSyn assay represents a promising advance for both clinical care and research.
