A practical guide to model selection when outsourcing your Alzheimer’s disease efficacy study to a specialist neurology CRO

Choosing the right Alzheimer’s disease mouse model is one of the most consequential early decisions in a preclinical drug development program. The model you select determines which pathological endpoints are measurable, which behavioral and biomarker readouts are appropriate, and how your data will translate to the clinical context. Whether you are outsourcing your first Alzheimer’s disease efficacy study or have extensive experience running preclinical programs, your CRO’s practical experience with specific disease models can be invaluable when selecting the most appropriate model for your study. In some programs, this may mean evaluating a compound across multiple models or complementary models at different stages of development to build a more comprehensive efficacy package. 

With an increasingly broad portfolio of transgenic amyloid, tau, combined, and seeding models available, each capturing a different aspect of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, the choice is rarely straightforward. In this regard, selecting a preclinical CRO with the right model portfolio and neurodegenerative disease expertise is as important as the model choice itself.  

As a preclinical neurology CRO based in Europe, InnoSer maintains a portfolio of Alzheimer’s disease mouse models in-house, alongside the capability to support studies in commercially available lines.  

Indeed, when outsourcing your preclinical Alzheimer’s disease program, you may already have generated data in a specific model, are working with multiple CROs, or plan to evaluate your compound across different models at different stages of development. Maintaining continuity with a model used in previous studies can support comparability across datasets. At InnoSer, we can also perform efficacy studies in established models such as ARTE10 and PS19, alongside our in-house Alzheimer’s disease models. 

Below, we outline the main Alzheimer’s disease mouse models for preclinical efficacy studies at InnoSer.  

Selecting your Alzheimer’s mouse model by pathological focus: amyloid, tau or both?  

For years, Alzheimer’s disease drug development was dominated by the amyloid hypothesis, and amyloid-targeting therapies remain the most represented class in both clinical and preclinical pipelines, with the recent FDA approvals of lecanemab and donanemab validating amyloid removal as a clinically meaningful therapeutic strategy.  

At the same time, the Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline is diversifying; tau-targeting programs are growing, with multiple therapeutics that are now in Phase III trials with targets beyond amyloid and tau. Neuroinflammation has emerged as the second most represented target class in both preclinical and clinical development.  

Whether your compound targets amyloid, tau, neuroinflammation, or a combination of these mechanisms, selecting the right preclinical model is the foundation of a translatable efficacy dataset. 

The table below provides an overview of InnoSer’s available models by pathological focus, covering amyloid, tau, tau seeding, and combined amyloid/tau lines. Importantly, each model name links to its dedicated page with full characterisation data, datasets, and available endpoints, giving you the information you need to make an informed outsourcing decision before your first conversation with our team. 

Selecting your Alzheimer’s mouse model by research application: therapeutic screening, disease progression or biomarker validation? 

Whether you are screening a novel anti-amyloid or anti-tau compound, characterising disease progression, or building a translational biomarker dataset, the research application you have in mind is often the clearest starting point for model selection. 

A 2025 scoping review of 409 treatment evaluations in MAPT mouse models identified anti-tau therapeutic screening and disease progression studies as the most represented research applications across two decades of preclinical tauopathy research, with the PS19 line most frequently used (Langness et al., 2025).  

For amyloid programs, APP transgenic models remain the primary platform for anti-amyloid therapeutic screening, reflecting the continued prominence of amyloid-targeting mechanisms in the clinical pipeline.  

Biomarker validation is an increasingly important application as many sponsors seek to generate preclinical data directly comparable to the fluid biomarker endpoints used in clinical trials.  

The table below maps InnoSer’s AD models to common research applications to help identify the best fit for your study objective.  

Selecting your Alzheimer’s mouse model by speed of disease progression: how fast does your model develop key disease phenotypes? 

If you are working within a tight study timeline, limited budget, or a specific treatment window, disease progression speed may be as important a selection criterion as pathological focus, and it is often the practical constraint that narrows your model choice fastest. 

If your program requires fast proof-of-concept, tau transgenic and seeding models offer the shortest path to detectable phenotypes, with motor and cognitive deficits emerging within weeks to months of pathology induction.  

If your study design requires a longer disease course, established plaque burden at treatment initiation, or a late-stage treatment paradigm, amyloid models, where insoluble Aβ accumulates gradually over months to years, may be the more appropriate choice. 

The table below organises InnoSer’s AD model portfolio by progression speed to help you match your study timeline to the right model. Follow the links to each model’s dedicated characterisation page for full onset data and endpoint details before reaching out to our team. 

From mechanism to mouse model: partnering with InnoSer for your preclinical Alzheimer’s disease efficacy study 

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most complex therapeutic areas in preclinical drug development, and the model landscape reflects that complexity. There is no universal right answer, but there is a right answer for your mechanism, your timeline, and your clinical hypothesis. 

At InnoSer, our neurology study directors have spent years helping sponsors navigate exactly this decision, from first-time AD programs to ongoing multi-study partnerships. Your preclinical Alzheimer’s research deserves a CRO that knows the models as well as you know your compound. Let’s find the right fit together. 

Building your preclinical Alzheimer’s disease program? Contact our neurology study directors to discuss model selection, endpoint design, and how InnoSer can support your research from early mechanistic studies through to IND-enabling data.