IES Diagnostics Inc, Wayne, Pa, has identified the body’s unique, specific immune response for systemic lupus erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune disease affecting more than five million people. Using this knowledge, IES plans to develop the first clinical diagnostic test for lupus.
In order to accelerate the test’s development, the company has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Specifically, IES seeks to raise the funds that will be needed for clinical development of the test, including expanded blood sample collection and testing, as well as various quality measures required for regulatory approval.
Because its symptoms mimic those of other diseases, lupus is particularly difficult to diagnose. Without a specific test for lupus, patients suffering from debilitating symptoms—including joint pain, inflammation, and organ and tissue damage—must wait for other conditions to be ruled out with numerous tests before they are diagnosed. This process often takes 3to 5years, during which the disease may cause irreversible damage to the body.
With the potential to diagnose lupus specifically and accurately, IES Diagnostics’ test identifies interferons (IFNs), or the body’s “first responder” proteins that cells produce immediately after infection. Any disease or virus that triggers an immune response has its own unique formula of interferons, a combination that is referred to as an interferon signature. While IFNs normally reset after the infection is controlled, in chronic diseases like lupus, the IFN signal stays on. This leads to excessive immune responses and inflammation.
“With our lupus test, people won’t have to go through unnecessary and excessive testing, misdiagnosis, and unnecessary or delayed treatment,” says Ronald Jubin, PhD, founder and president of IES Diagnostics. “The ability to accurately detect lupus allows earlier and better treatment. We also believe our immune-based technology can lead to new lupus treatments and therapies.”
The company’s interferon-based technology was developed by FDA and is licensed exclusively to IES Diagnostics by the National Institutes of Health.
For more information, visit IES Diagnostics.
