Siemens Healthineers launches Alzheimer's blood tests amid earnings decline and ownership shift

Siemens Healthineers has unveiled two new blood tests for Alzheimer's research, aiming to detect key proteins linked to the disease. The company, however, faces broader financial and operational hurdles, including a 3% drop in adjusted earnings per share in the latest quarter. Shareholders will also see changes as Siemens prepares to reduce its stake in the business by early 2026.

The newly launched assays, Atellica IM pTau217 and Atellica IM Brain Derived Tau (BDTau), are designed to identify Alzheimer's-related proteins in blood samples. Both tests run on the existing Atellica analyser platform, allowing labs to integrate them without new equipment. For now, they remain approved only for research, with no clinical use yet in Germany or elsewhere.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, Siemens Healthineers reported a 3.8% revenue increase. Yet adjusted earnings per share slipped to €0.49, a 3% decline from the same period last year. The diagnostics division, in particular, shrank by 3%, largely due to weaker demand in China. The company also warned of a potential €500 million hit from negative tariff effects over the full year. Beyond Alzheimer's, the firm offers a CE-marked neurofilament light chain assay for assessing multiple sclerosis risk. A test for the ApoE-ε4 gene variant, linked to both Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases, is also in development. Despite these innovations, the stock has fallen by 28% over the past year, hitting a 52-week low. Siemens plans to distribute 30% of Healthineers' shares to its own shareholders, effectively ending its controlling interest. Further details on the spin-off are expected in early Q2 2026. The move comes as the company navigates challenges in diagnostics, new product adoption, and a shifting market landscape.

The two new Alzheimer's assays expand Siemens Healthineers' biomarker offerings but remain limited to research for now. With earnings under pressure and a major ownership change on the horizon, the company's next steps will shape its position in the growing neurology sector. Nearly 10 million new dementia cases annually highlight the long-term potential of such diagnostics.