LONDON, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Curidium Medica plc, today announced that it has discovered four unique and statistically significantly different subgroups of schizophrenia/bipolar disorder patients based on their gene expression profiles. Using its proprietary Homomatrix(R), Curidium analyzed the gene expression profiles of post-mortem brains of 64 schizophrenic/bipolar disorder patients and matched controls. These expression profiles were the result of a genome-wide screening of more than 22,000 gene probes using the Affymetrix Genechip(TM) technology (conducted by the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Centre). Each patient/control was a member of only one of the four subgroups and each subgroup was associated with a unique and finite number of genes. Furthermore, the differences between the subgroups were statistically significant (p<0.001). The genes identified in each subgroup include known and novel drug targets.
“Schizophrenic and bipolar disorder patients are often very difficult to treat effectively”, stated Dr. Anne Bruinvels, CEO of Curidium Medica plc, “The identification of distinct patient subgroups with highly significant differences in gene expression profiles could lead to the development of more effective and targeted products and we are pleased that Curidium’s Homomatrix tool can provide this insight.”
The Company is in the process of analyzing a second set of gene expression data from the post-mortem brains of a separate and different group of patients and controls to confirm these findings.
About Homomatrix(R)
Homomatrix(R) is a fully automated analysis tool that uses proprietary pattern recognition tools and sequences of mathematical algorithms together with state-of-the-art statistical methods to objectively analyze large sets of gene expression and biological data from heterogeneous populations. These analyses can potentially lead to the development of diagnostics that identify treatment-responsive patients and/or patient subgroups, signaling pathways as well as drug targets. It is anticipated that Homomatrix(R) could be of significant value in the drug development arena where the “most likely to respond” patients could be pre-selected to clinical trials.
About Curidium
Curidium is a company focused on identifying targeted medicines to treat patients more effectively. Through the application of its proprietary technology, Homomatrix(R), Curidium analyses biological data (mRNA/protein data) from patients suffering from complex or multi-factorial diseases. Patient populations with complex disorders are known to be heterogeneous and only certain subgroups of patients respond to a specific treatment. Curidium believes that Homomatrix(R) will ultimately allow for the development of the right drug for the right patient. The Company files patents around the genes and drug targets that are associated with the specific subgroups of patients.
Further information on Curidium can be found at the Company’s website: www.curidium.com.
Curidium Medica PLC
CONTACT: For further information please contact: Anne Bruinvels, CEO,Curidium Medica plc, +44-(0)-20-7554-8790
