WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scipher Medicine announced data validating the clinical utility of the company’s PrismRA test for guiding treatment selection for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The latest publication in the Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics showed that patients whose care included PrismRA testing had significantly superior clinical outcomes when compared to current standard of care (SOC).
Scipher Medicine, a precision immunology company matching each patient with their most effective therapy, has developed its proprietary PrismRA blood test, which predicts non-response to the world’s largest drug class, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in RA patients. TNFis are commonly used to treat RA, yet many patients fail to achieve an optimal response. As a result, many patients endure a trial-and-error and fail-first treatment odyssey resulting in poorly controlled disease, irreversible joint damage, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and death. PrismRA guides treatment selection and helps patients with RA find their most effective therapy sooner.
Data from the study found that RA patients with moderate to high disease activity whose treatment was guided by PrismRA were up to three times more likely to reach treatment goals when compared to SOC. Treatment goals were defined as low disease activity or remission six months after therapy initiation. The AIMS study included over 70 private and academic rheumatology practices across the United States, 627 patients tested with PrismRA and a 2,721 patient control arm, derived and matched from an electronic health record database.
Building on Scipher’s prior clinical research, these results represent the first comparison of PrismRA to SOC treatment-selection practices, adding further evidence to support the clinical utility of PrismRA to improve outcomes and inform treatment selection for RA patients.
“Current standard of care practices commonly fail to achieve the treat-to-target goals of low disease activity or remission, in part due to the challenge of selecting the most beneficial therapy for patients,” said study co-author Jeffrey Curtis, MD, MS, MPH, professor of medicine, Epidemiology and Computer Science in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Data from this study showed a significant improvement in clinical outcomes. This may, in turn, elicit a decrease in frequent and costly medication changes, decreased risk of drug toxicity from therapies that are ultimately ineffective for specific patients, and prevention of irreversible joint damage for patients suffering from RA.”
“The ineffective use of trial-and-error methods when prescribing RA treatment has become far too common, leading to sub-optimal clinical responses and, ultimately, increased healthcare costs,” said Sam Asgarian, M.D., chief medical officer, Scipher Medicine. “Building upon the work from our previous two studies, these results provide further evidence that broad adoption of PrismRA could shift the treatment landscape for RA patients by bringing personalized medicine to the forefront of care.”
About Scipher Medicine®
Scipher Medicine, a precision immunology company matching each patient with their most effective therapy, believes that patients deserve simple answers to treatment options based on scientific data. Using Spectra™, our proprietary network medicine platform, we commercialize tests revealing a person’s unique molecular disease signature and match it to the most effective therapy, ensuring optimal treatment from day one. Molecular data generated from our tests further supports the discovery and development of novel and more effective therapeutics. We partner with leading payers, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical companies to bring precision medicine solutions to patients with autoimmune diseases. Visit sciphermedicine.com and follow Scipher Medicine on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
