The method developed by ImmunArray identifies and sorts about 200 antigens displayed on the iCHIP; Analysis of the antibodies present against them makes it possible to rule out the existence of lupus. It is possible that this tool will even help doctors, in the future, to follow the development of the disease
Company ImmunArray The Israeli company, whose offices and laboratories are located in Richmond, Virginia, recently launched a new diagnostic method to identify lupus. The method is based on technology for diagnosing the human immune system, which was developed by Weizmann Institute of Science scientists.
The diagnostic method is based on the iCHIP platform, which is based on printing proteins, peptides, short segments of DNA, cytokines, chemokines and more - on a glass substrate. The diagnostic method was developed Prof. Yaron Cohen From the Department of Immunology, andProf. Eitan Domani from the Department of Physics of Complex Systems at the Weizmann Institute of Science. This platform provides a new approach to personalized medicine, by characterizing each person's personal immune system through the variety of antibodies in their body, which react to thousands of different antigens. In this test, one drop of blood serum is used.
Lupus is known as a disease that is particularly difficult to diagnose, because apparently it is not a single disease at all, but a system of overlapping diseases, similar to each other. The method developed by ImmunArray identifies and sorts about 200 antigens displayed on the iCHIP; Analysis of the antibodies present against them makes it possible to rule out the existence of the disease. It is possible that this tool will even help doctors, in the future, to follow the development of the disease.
ImmunArray started out as a start-up company with a license agreement from a company "Research and development knowledge", the technological applications arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science. The company focuses on translating the basic research carried out at the institute into medical applications based on in-depth analysis of data. "At the institute, we used this technology to study, among other things, autoimmune diseases, cancer and transplants," says Prof. Cohen, "and the work they did in ImmunArray serves as an excellent example of the application of a research tool."
The method developed by ImmunArray to identify and rule out lupus is only the first product developed by the company that is based on the iCHIP technology. In the next step, the company plans the development of ways to confirm the existence of lupus in the context of similar diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, the company intends, in the future, to develop a tool to identify cancer patients who are suitable for immunotherapy, to apply the iCHIP to the diagnosis of brain trauma, and even to develop tools to predict the results of treatment in autoimmune diseases.
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The entire management team, board of directors, scientific advisory team of the company are Americans.