Molecular Stethoscope, Inc., a Precision Medicine biotechnology company, announces presentation of its human proof-of-concept study applying its proprietary cf-mRNA Liquid Biopsy Technology Platform for the study of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Annual Meeting – The Liver Meeting 2021. This study demonstrates the utility of the Company’s Technology Platform to identify dysregulated gene clusters in PSC patients and develop classifiers using liver-enriched cf-mRNA transcripts for PSC diagnosis.
Naga Chalasani, M.D., who is the lead author of this study and Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Interim Chair in the Department of Medicine at Indiana University in the USA, commented that, “The identified, usually inaccessible, pathological gene clusters may inform response to candidate medicines in present clinical trials, as well as suggest future therapeutic targets; and the liver-enriched classifier may have utility for non-invasive molecular stratification of PSC patients for pharmacotherapy safety and response studies.” And Dr. Chalasani added, “New molecular tools to timely diagnose PSC in patients with ulcerative colitis is a critical unmet need.”
The study is titled “Noninvasive molecular characterization of primary sclerosing cholangitis using cell-free messenger RNA sequencing,” and it will be presented during The Liver Meeting 2021 session “PBC/PSC and Other Cholestatic Diseases.”
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) is a rare chronic disease of the bile ducts with an unknown cause and unpredictable course that results in scars and inflammation of the biliary system. Patients with PSC may develop severe liver problems including cirrhosis, cancer and the need for a liver transplant. Specifically, PSC patients are at increased risk for cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer. With limited therapeutic options and a lack of proven monitoring strategies, there is a significant clinical unmet need for PSC patients.
Guillermo Elias, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Molecular Stethoscope stated, “We are excited to share the positive results of this PSC study with the medical and scientific communities. Together with our previously completed and published human proof-of-concept studies in NAFLD/NASH, Alzheimer’s Disease and Cancer (Transplant Oncology), this PSC study further de-risks our Technology Platform. We are now focused on building our clinical-grade pipeline to accelerate the development of products and solutions for clinical practice and BioPharma R&D.”
More information about the results of this study is available in the AASLD Liver Meeting 2021 website:
Publication Number: 1283. “Noninvasive molecular characterization of primary sclerosing cholangitis using cell-free messenger RNA sequencing.”
