Pfizer Australia has signed up to partner the CSIRO for its Alzheimer’s disease cluster study.

The Australian Imaging, Biomarker and Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL) is designed to better understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and to discover a method for early diagnosis.

The study is a multi-organisational initiative and has so far recruited over 1000 volunteers. They are being investigated by neuro-imaging, clinical and cognitive testing, blood biomarker samples and health and lifestyle data.

The partnership with Pfizer is worth $1.1 million over three years and will see a panel of biomarkers tested against the volunteer group.

The study’s leader, University of Melbourne’s Professor David Aims, said the main aim of the project was the Holy Grail of Alzheimer’s research – a blood test.