MultiOmic Health announces discovery of novel endotypes and biomarkers for diabetic kidney disease

London, UK, 12th November 2024 / MultiOmic Health, a leading AI-enabled drug discovery company, announces the identification of novel patient endotypes and the development of proprietary biomarkers for stratifying diabetic kidney disease (DKD) patients. This breakthrough enables precise segmentation of DKD patients by disease trajectory over time, marking a pivotal advancement in precision medicine for DKD. MultiOmic’s CEO Robert Thong will present these findings at the LSX Investival Conference in London on 18th November 2024. 

MultiOmic’s discoveries have the potential in the near term to transform the economics and success rates of DKD trials by enabling targeted patient selection into clinical studies. In the longer term, MultiOmic’s biomarkers could be developed and optimised into companion diagnostics (for precision medicines aimed at specific patient subpopulations) and clinical diagnostic products supporting clinician decision making for all DKD patients. 

“The discovery of these biomarkers marks a significant milestone in our mission to advance precision medicine for serious complications of metabolic dysfunction,” said Robert Thong, CEO of MultiOmic Health. “Our ability to identify patient endotypes and predict different progression rates and timelines at an early stage of the disease will help enable a shift from reactive to proactive care.” 

AI-enabled insights that will transform patient outcomes 

MultiOmic’s computational platform integrates custom-assembled human datasets with advanced machine learning algorithms to extract disease-specific insights. Through its research collaboration with the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, MultiOmic analysed biosamples and longitudinal clinical data from the Salford Kidney Study, clustering individuals into previously unpublished clinical phenotypes with distinct molecular signatures. Each endotype comprises patients with a similar pattern of disease progression, and a consistent molecular signature that is distinct from ostensibly similar patients in the wider population. 

Subsequently, MultiOmic developed AI-enabled biomarker models to predict a patient’s endotype at the outset of their disease journey, using only a small set of clinical and molecular input parameters. Performance testing suggests these models outperform existing prognostic tools for chronic kidney conditions. MultiOmic’s biomarker models have been corroborated by applying them to predict DKD patient endotypes from UK Biobank data and examining the clinical outcome trajectories of those predictions. 

“MultiOmic’s work represents some of the most innovative and powerful findings to be derived from the Salford Kidney Study, an ongoing cohort study in which we have collected data and samples from over 4000 patients since 2002,” said Professor Philip Kalra, Director of Research & Innovation and Consultant Nephrologist at Salford Royal in the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. “These results will ​​not only deepen the scientific understanding of chronic kidney complications in diabetic patients, but also have the potential to engender a vast improvement in DKD patient care by helping physicians determine the right treatment strategy for each patient – a big step towards personalised medicine.” 

“These discoveries will be a game-changer for clinical trial conduct in chronic kidney disease, enabling shorter and leaner programmes that can still deliver robust evidence of treatment effects – a substantial value-add for the scientific community and the pharmaceutical industry,” said Dr Richard Nkulikiyinka, formerly Vice-President and Head of Therapeutic Area Cardiology, Nephrology & Pulmonology at Bayer AG, now an independent scientific adviser in cardiorenal and metabolic disease. “The distinct omics signatures of each endotype also have the potential to lead to the discovery of unique and more effective treatment approaches for each corresponding patient subpopulation.” 

Future plans 

MultiOmic is in the process of filing patents for its biomarker tools and is initiating a bottom-up validation study in another patient cohort to expand sample size and deepen scientific insights. A paper will be prepared for journal submission in 2025. The company is also working on identifying and validating novel drug targets that can be modulated to treat specific patient endotypes. MultiOmic sees significant potential for expansion of its work, both into other chronic renal conditions and into other diabetic and metabolic dysfunction associated complications. 

ENDS

For further information, please contact: 

MultiOmic Health 
Esra Berkol 
E: esra@multiomic.health 

Northern Care Alliance 
Claire Mooney 
E: Claire.Mooney@nca.nhs.uk 

Sciad Communications, Media Relations 
Sophie Protheroe 
E: multiomic@sciad.com 

Notes to Editors 

About Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) 

Chronic kidney disease manifests itself as a deterioration of kidney function over time, leading eventually to kidney failure and the need for either a lifetime on dialysis treatment or a kidney transplant. Many patients also experience cardiac events and premature mortality. DKD refers to chronic kidney disease associated with diabetes. Approximately 30-40% of diabetes patients develop renal complications (1) and an estimated 40% of all patients on renal dialysis are diabetics (2). Despite advances in precision medicine for cancer, certain rare diseases and some chronic conditions, the DKD field remains underserved, with no precision therapies currently available, despite the well-documented heterogeneity across the wider patient population. Currently available treatments for dysglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, heart failure and obesity reduce the risk factors for DKD in some patients but there are no treatment options available to address the underlying molecular factors driving the onset of serious downstream complications. 

About MultiOmic Health 

MultiOmic Health is an AI-enabled drug discovery (AIDD) company dedicated to developing novel therapeutic and diagnostic assets for serious complications of metabolic dysfunction, the world’s largest healthcare burden. The company partners with research collaborators across the UK NHS and continental Europe to source de-identified clinical records and patient bio-samples for precision medicine discovery. MultiOmic’s platform combines computational biology analyses with targeted wet laboratory experiments. MultiOmic subsequently partners with established biopharma and medical diagnostic companies to take its therapeutic and diagnostic concepts into global clinical trial programmes and market the ensuing products. Its experienced leadership team blends commercial, technical and operational expertise from across the pharma, diagnostics, systems biology and AI/big data arenas. 

All participant information provided to MultiOmic by its research collaborators is de-identified, fully consented and in compliance with relevant privacy and data protection legislation, regulations and guidance, including but not limited to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in both the European Union and the United Kingdom. 

About Northern Care Alliance  

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust was established on 1 October 2021 bringing together Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. NCA provides hospital and community healthcare services in Salford, Oldham, Bury and Rochdale. Its dedicated team of around 20,000 staff delivers high standards of care and experience excellence to over one million people across Greater Manchester and beyond. 

References 

1. International Diabetes Federation. Diabetes around the World in 2021 [Internet]. IDF Diabetes Atlas. 2022. 
2. Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care. Management of adults with diabetes on dialysis, summary of recommendations. 2023.