Life Science Tech Company IQuity Now Receiving Physician Orders for First RNA-Based Blood Test for Multiple Sclerosis

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nashville-based life science technology company IQuity announced today that it has received orders from physicians for its groundbreaking RNA-based blood test, IsolateMS, which can dramatically speed up the process of diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS) when administered at the earliest onset of symptoms.

"The team at IQuity is thrilled with the level of interest from physicians who see value in ordering the test for their patients," said Dr. Chase Spurlock, CEO and co-founder of IQuity. "IsolateMS fills an unmet need in autoimmune diagnostics. By relying on the power of RNA, we can give providers critical information about the patient's condition earlier than before.  We are also seeing strong interest from other researchers and pharmaceutical companies who are interested in collaborating with us as we advance our research."

With an accuracy rate of more than 90 percent, IsolateMS helps physicians confirm a suspected MS diagnosis faster and enables them to start an effective treatment plan much sooner with the goal of reducing the average diagnosis time from months or years to just a matter of weeks.

"Neurologists and neuroimmunologists should embrace IsolateMS since it is the closest thing next to a lesional biopsy," said Jagannadha (Jay) Avasarala, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology at the USC School of Medicine in Greenville, South Carolina.

Currently, diagnostic methods for MS rely on measuring the progress of irreversible neurological damage. With IsolateMS, neurologists will have access to new information to help confirm suspected cases of MS.

"This test augments existing clinical practices and may eliminate the period of uncertainty that can accompany an MS diagnosis," said Spurlock. "This enables patients and providers to begin discussing next steps much sooner."

Spurlock and IQuity co-founder Dr. Thomas Aune, both faculty members at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, are among the first researchers to use machine-learning processes to probe a potential link between long, non-coding RNA gene expression data and the presence of autoimmune diseases.

This research resulted in IQuity's IQIsolate technology, which forms the foundation of the IsolateMS test, as well as additional RNA-based blood tests such as IsolateIBS-IBD, which will be released later this year.

Physicians interested in more information or in ordering the IsolateMS test should visit https://iquity.com/lab-login.

About IQuity: 
IQuity is a life science technology company that analyzes RNA expression data from whole blood to identify the presence or absence of autoimmune disease and monitor disease progression at the cellular level. The accuracy of these detection methods at the earliest onset of symptoms exceeds 90%. With results delivered in only 7 days, providers have the ability to shorten the diagnostic process for autoimmune disease and related conditions. For more information visit http://iquity.com and find us on Facebook and Twitter at @iquityinc.

CONTACT:  
Melinda LaFollette 
615.515.4884 
[email protected]

SOURCE IQuity

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