Medidata in deal on AI biomarker identification for ALS developments

09-Mar-2020 - Last updated on 09-Mar-2020 at 14:30 GMT

(Image: Getty/Pornpak Khunatorn)

Related tags ALS Medidata Artificial intelligence Biomarker

Project ALS has selected Medidata’s biomarker discovery solution for its research projects, aiming to improve understanding of the ALS disease process and develop new therapeutic strategies.

Medidata announced the launch of a research partnership with Project ALS, a non-profit research organization working on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The partnership is based on Medidata’s Rave Omics, a biomarker discovery solution which streamlines omic (including genomic, proteomic, and transcriptomic) data capture within the clinical study process.

Rave Omics leverages machine-learning methodologies to identify subsets of patients based on omic biomarkers. The solution is included in Medidata’s portfolio of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled analytics services, known as Acorn AI.

According to Medidata, identifying biomarkers that differentiate patients and determine treatment response can ‘significantly improve’ health outcomes, especially for rare diseases like ALS.

Commenting on the partnership, Neil Shneider, member of the board for Project ALS Research Advisory, stated that “ALS is a complex, heterogeneous disease, and treatment of its various forms may require specific therapies targeting distinct ALS subtypes.”

Working with Medidata’s support, he added, will help define these subtypes, and to develop a precision medicine approach to treat ALS. Project ALS president Meredith Estess added that the partnership is expected to bring ‘crucial’ resources to the organization’s efforts.