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New trial to evaluate Crohn’s biomarker test for disease prognosis
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PredictImmune announced that it has received a 4.3 million British pound investment from the Wellcome Trust. The company will use the investment to study its test for prognosing Crohn’s disease.
The test identifies genetic markers in Crohn’s disease (CD) and predicts the course of illness, helping clinicians guide patient therapy.
“This prognostic tool accurately identifies patients, at diagnosis, who are at risk of experiencing severe, relapsing disease and who are therefore likely to benefit from early biologics therapy,” Andrew Sandham, executive chairman of PredictImmune said in a press release. “When combined with current diagnostic procedures, this new test is designed to guide physicians in selecting a treatment protocol that is best suited for the patient’s predicted longer-term prognosis.”
The investment will fund the PROFILE trial, which researchers designed to prospectively examine the test’s ability to guide treatment choice between standard step-up therapy and the first-line use of biologic immunomodulator drugs, per the press release.
The company said prior studies have shown that patients with more severe CD are more likely to benefit from earlier use of biologics, and predicting the long-term prognosis of the disease is key to guiding therapy for these patients.
PredictImmune is also in discussions with pharmaceutical companies about the potential use of the test for the stratification of patients in clinical studies of biologic drugs.
Disclosures: Sandham is employed by PredictImmune