IQuity, Inc. was formed by a group of talented Vanderbilt scientists and experienced business people committed to innovation in specialty diagnostic technologies. The company’s mission is to help providers diagnose faster, treat sooner and, ultimately, improve the lives of patients suffering from autoimmune diseases.
The company’s leading edge technology, IQIsolate™, was developed over a 10 year period at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The research team was led by Dr. Tom Aune and supported by $4 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health.
IQuity’s suite of algorithms, IQIsolate, is a revolutionary technology that analyzes RNA markers in a blood sample. IQuity’s peer-reviewed research revealed that RNA expression patterns detectable in blood samples of patients with autoimmune conditions, such as MS, and non-autoimmune conditions with similar symptoms vary widely. IQIsolate measures the expression of RNA markers that are extracted from a patient’s blood sample and matches this RNA profile against healthy and sick patient profiles identified through our research. This analysis determines if the patient’s gene expression pattern is consistent with a specific disease.
IQIsolate can identify gene expression differences at a greater than 90 percent accuracy rate for the following medical specialties: neurology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology. No laboratory test is 100% accurate. For example, in gastroenterology, IQuity’s test will call IBS versus IBD and further classify IBD as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. What is significant is that it can do so in a single test.
IQuity Test Panel Roadmap
IQuity worked with Diatherix, operating at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama, to validate its multiple sclerosis test in its CLIA certified, CAP accredited molecular laboratory. Given this successful validation effort, IQuity is accelerating its business plan to become an independent CLIA lab operating in Nashville, Tennessee. In its own CLIA laboratory, IQuity will take a bench discovery made at Vanderbilt and translate it into clinical practice.
First Product
IQuity’s first test, IsolateNeuro™ – should be complete and available for patients in Q2 2017. IQuity intends to follow the neurology test by introducing its gastroenterology panel in mid-2017 and rheumatology panel by late 2017.
Earlier diagnosis is extremely important. It allows doctors to quickly introduce therapies to reduce relapses, preserve function and lengthen lifespan.
Current methods for diagnosing MS rely on the ability to identify damage that has already occurred in the brain. Final diagnosis requires waiting to evaluate the amount of damage as it increases over time, often spanning months to years. IsolateNeuro quickly confirms or rules out a suspected diagnosis of MS by utilizing RNA expression data derived from a patient’s blood sample that signals disease at the cellular level, and allowing providers to diagnose disease at the earliest onset of symptoms, shortening the diagnostic window from years to days.
We are very excited about this IQuity and its positive impact on human health. More information about IQuity, its science and its products can be found at www.iquity.com. If you would like an introduction, please contact either Peter Rousos or Kelley Dantoulis.