MultiOmic Health has recently announced 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 chief executive officer (CEO) Robert Thong presented these findings at the LSX Investival Conference (18 November, London, UK).
In a press release, MultiOmic stated that it’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 Thong. “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.”
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biosamples and longitudinal clinical data from the Salford Kidney Study, clustering individuals into previously unpublished clinical phenotypes with distinct molecular signatures.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 artificial intelligence (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 Philip Kalra (Salford Royal, Salford, UK), director of research and innovation. “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 Richard Nkulikiyinka, formerly vice president (VP) and head of therapeutic area cardiology, nephrology and 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.”
MultiOmic is currently 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 stated that it sees significant potential for expansion of its work, both into other chronic renal conditions and into other diabetic and metabolic dysfunction associated complications.
