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Biohope, a leading company in personalized medicine, has been awarded a grant by the Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) to support its project titled “Development of a Cellular Assay for Monitoring Autoimmune Diseases” (Project No.: IDI-20230845). This initiative aims to design an in vitro diagnostic test to identify biological drugs and JAK inhibitors that demonstrate optimal efficacy in treating autoimmune diseases on a per-patient basis.

The project’s primary goal is to predict the response of a patient’s circulating immune cells to a wide range of immunosuppressive drugs commonly used in autoimmune conditions. Key technical objectives include:

• Developing an in vitro diagnostic test based on cultures of the patient’s circulating immune cells.

• Combining four essential elements into a single study to identify the most appropriate drugs for treating autoimmune diseases.

• Predicting responses of the patient’s immune cells to anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) drugs.

• Predicting responses to JAK inhibitors.

• Predicting responses to IL-6 (Interleukin 6) blockers.

Specific technical aims involve developing a prototype test after evaluating different classes of DMARDs (Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs), integrating measurements of all drug classes into a single assay and platform, assessing the analytical performance of the prototype (precision, specificity, sensitivity, and linearity), analyzing prototype results in a representative population of healthy donors, and establishing reference values in the analyzed healthy donor population.

This project is co-financed by the European Union and the Spanish Ministry of Finance, reflecting a significant advancement in personalized treatment approaches for autoimmune diseases.