Novel “RA Response Calculator” Uses AI and Real Patient Data to Help Doctors Better Tailor Treatment Plans
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2025, Scipher Medicine, the company behind the groundbreaking PrismRA® test, unveiled a new, AI-driven approach to help doctors better evaluate if a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment is truly working — a challenge that has long frustrated both patients and physicians.
This new “RA Response Calculator,” developed using real-world patient data and machine learning, offers a more accurate way to determine whether someone is actually improving on their current therapy — cutting through the noise of subjective measures like patient self-reports and physician assessments.
“Anyone living with RA knows that figuring out whether a medication is working can take months — and even then, it’s often unclear,” said Reg Seeto, CEO of Scipher Medicine. “We created this tool to make that process faster, clearer, and more personalized. It brings science and objectivity to a space that’s long relied on educated guesswork.”
The study analyzed data from nearly 1,500 RA patients receiving commonly prescribed treatments — TNF inhibitors, T-cell inhibitors, and IL-6 inhibitors. By applying a machine learning algorithm to joint tenderness, swelling, and inflammation data collected over 24 weeks, Scipher’s team identified a combination of two standard clinical measures that best predicts therapy success: Tender Joint Count (TJC) and Swollen Joint Count (SJC).
The result: a simple formula that predicts whether a treatment is helping — or if it’s time to try something else.
“Doctors already use TJC and SJC in the clinic. What’s new is how we’ve mathematically combined them using real-world data and AI to create a consistent, data-backed benchmark for treatment response,” said Seeto. “This is about giving providers and patients a clearer, faster answer — and a better shot at remission.”
The new tool also showed improved accuracy over standard response metrics like CDAI and ACR scores, which are commonly used in trials but often fall short in real-world care.
About Scipher Medicine
Scipher Medicine is transforming how autoimmune diseases like RA are treated by using AI and network biology to match patients with therapies that actually work. Through its SPECTRA Rx and Dx platforms, Scipher combines the largest clinico-genomic dataset in rheumatology with real-world medical records, creating powerful tools to personalize care and improve drug development. Learn more at www.sciphermedicine.com.
About PrismRA®
PrismRA is a first-of-its-kind blood test that helps doctors identify which RA patients are unlikely to respond to TNF inhibitor therapy — the most commonly prescribed (and most expensive) class of RA drugs. With just a routine blood draw, PrismRA analyzes a patient’s molecular signature to guide more effective and personalized treatment plans. Visit PrismRA.com to learn more.
Contacts
Jaclyn Vincent
jaclyn.vincent@scipher.com
