Scipher Medicine, a precision medicine leader focused on autoimmune diseases, has announced a strategic partnership with healthcare data and technology company Kythera Labs to advance rheumatology treatment discovery and development.
The collaboration integrates Kythera's enriched high-fidelity multi-source electronic health record (EHR) and claims data with real-world clinical and genomic data from Scipher's PrismRA® Test. This integration is expected to reveal new insights that will drive precision medicine advancements in rheumatology.
"This strategic partnership unites the strength of precision medicine with real-world data to accelerate the development and delivery of transformative therapies," said Reg Seeto, Scipher's CEO. "By combining Scipher's unique and industry-leading clinico-transcriptomic rheumatology data assets with Kythera's data transforming technology, we can take fuller advantage of novel data and advance personalized medicine to improve patient lives."
Data Integration with Privacy Protection
A key strength of the partnership lies in Kythera's technology and proprietary patient mastering algorithms, which enable privacy protection while maximizing the value of data assets. The companies report achieving a 98% match rate to Scipher's data, helping to bring together real-world data sources targeted to disease-specific therapeutic areas.
Jeff McDonald, CEO and Co-Founder of Kythera Labs, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration: "Our ability to integrate real-world data with high accuracy and fidelity ensures maximum data value and broad extensibility across diverse RWD use cases. By connecting the depth of Scipher's molecular biobank data with our RWD, we can build a bench-to-bedside bridge that will assist Scipher to uncover deeper insights and advance the development of new therapies for patients."
Leveraging Extensive Rheumatology Data Assets
Scipher Medicine brings to the partnership what it describes as the industry's largest rheumatoid arthritis (RA) genomic data asset and biobank, along with electronic medical record data for over 3 million rheumatology patients. The company uses artificial intelligence combined with network biology and proprietary data through its SPECTRA Rx and Dx platforms to drive success at each stage of drug development.
The PrismRA® Test, Scipher's flagship product, is a blood test that analyzes an individual's molecular signature to identify rheumatoid arthritis patients unlikely to respond adequately to TNF inhibitor (TNFi) therapy—the world's largest selling drug class. This allows clinicians to prescribe alternative effective therapies earlier, potentially avoiding unnecessary dose escalations or drug cycles.
Implications for Precision Medicine
Rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately 20 million patients globally, and current treatment approaches often involve trial-and-error prescribing. The partnership between Scipher Medicine and Kythera Labs aims to transform this landscape by providing objective data to inform therapeutic decision-making.
By combining molecular biobank data with real-world evidence, the companies hope to accelerate the development of more targeted therapies and improve the precision with which existing treatments are prescribed. This could significantly improve clinical outcomes for patients with autoimmune diseases while potentially reducing healthcare costs associated with ineffective treatments.
The collaboration represents a growing trend in healthcare toward data-driven precision medicine approaches that tailor treatments to individual patients based on their unique molecular and clinical profiles rather than traditional one-size-fits-all approaches.
Future Directions
While the initial focus appears to be on rheumatoid arthritis, the partnership's approach could potentially extend to other autoimmune conditions in the future. The integration of diverse data sources—from genomic and molecular information to clinical outcomes and claims data—creates a comprehensive framework for understanding disease mechanisms and treatment responses.
As precision medicine continues to evolve, partnerships that bridge the gap between laboratory discoveries and clinical applications will likely play an increasingly important role in advancing patient care and drug development in complex disease areas like autoimmunity.
