Immunexpress Pty Ltd (formerly Athlomics Pty Ltd) Novel molecular biomarkers supporting clinical therapy decisions
Overview
History: Athlomics Pty Ltd is an Australian-based company with its business development office in Seattle, USA. It commenced business n January 2006. Its IP was discovered using 3 novel longitudinal trials in disorders of the equine immune system; trials were conducted in Australia and the US with Australian & US veterinary schools, Affymetrix (CA, USA), Gene Logic (MD, USA) and Emphron Informatics (Australia).. Athlomics’ first multiplex product, SeptiCyte® Lab – a high performing early diagnostic for sepsis - will be launched in Australia in Q2 2010 as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) through Mater Pathology, Brisbane, Australia. Initial Market Focus: SeptiCyte® Lab relies on multiple molecular biomarkers (n = 10-80) of the immune system. It requires 2.5 ml of whole blood in PreAnalytiX PAXgene™ tubes & performs on a Qiagen Rotor-Gene Q Multiplex Tandem PCR platform (with robot) for initial use in hospital and pathology labs (& adaptable to other platforms). SeptiCyte® technology can be used for:1. early detection (turnaround <3 hrs) and more specific diagnosis of sepsis (85 to 95%; p<0.01), and2. regular patient monitoring of:
- Sepsis patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) (immune system response to therapy), and
- Immuno-compromised patients, e.g. chemotherapy, transplant, AIDS, long-term steroids, young and elderly (earlier detection and potential prevention).
This test can potentially improve patient outcomes, reduce duration of antibiotic treatment and length of time spent in ICU, and better target future immune therapies.Through earlier diagnosis and continuous patient monitoring, Athlomics estimates cost savings of up to $5b per year to the US healthcare system, through more targeted antibiotic use, decreased toxic side effects of antibiotics, less ‘at risk’ admissions, and reduced duration in ICU. Estimates of cost savings do not include the technology’s potential to decrease patient mortality, add value in sub-stratification of patients or develop new effective immuno-modulators.The incidence of sepsis and septic shock is rising, now affecting younger patients. With a mortality rate of almost 30%, sepsis is the most common non-coronary cause of death in ICU. All-cause sepsis affects 750,000 US hospitalizations yearly and more than half these cases may be hospital acquired. Sepsis affects 5 to 10% of all hospital patients, leading to an increase of about US$5b in US health care costs annually. The total annual cost of sepsis to the US healthcare system is ~US$16b. Globally, there are an estimated 18 million cases of sepsis per year. In the US alone, if one third of hospitalized cases were monitored just 4 times during a hospital stay, the number of tests per annum approximates one million. This estimate does not include early detection in the immune-compromised, e.g. patients on chemotherapy. bioMerieux surveyed 300 emergency and critical care clinicians:· 63% indicated multi-drug-resistant microorganisms were # 1 reason for increase in sepsis in young patients, · 70% agreed biomarkers would significantly help earlier sepsis diagnosis and lead to better patient outcomes. Current management of sepsis relies on +ve micro culture (30 to 50% failure rate; 24 hrs to 7 days), often complemented with detection of markers of activated inflammation (e.g. PCT, CRP, and IL-6), the performance of which is <70%. As a monitoring test, PCT is insufficiently specific to sepsis, and fails to adequately instruct clinicians on sepsis immunopathology in response to therapy. Company Vision: Athlomics IP also covers the products of its surrogate gene biomarkers (e.g. proteins), as well as Point-of-Care (POC) platform delivery – including IT, bioinformatics and security protocols. POC is better suited to critical care of sepsis patients, and monitoring of patients at risk. mRNA samples have been clinically validated on Affymetrix full human exon arrays (as well as MT-PCR) ® rich knowledge on down-stream proteins. The right POC platform is not yet available through any partner; Athlomics is conducting ongoing surveillance for appropriate POC platforms.Other potential applications of the technology include monitoring immune ‘status’ in human athletes (over-training syndrome), other immune-related diseases (chronic fatigue syndrome) and ‘wellness’ (immune health assessment and disease prevention).
Main business focus/
Listing by sector:
- Diagnostics
- Genomics
- Immunology
- Inflammatory
- Oncology
Partnering Needs
Athlomics is seeking a multinational partner with which to complete clinical validation and to guide regulatory compliance in the US and Europe for the regular monitoring applications of this technology.
Contact Details
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