Patents and financed projects

Since its creation, Health in Code has participated in numerous research projects, both nationally and internationally.

Financial Projects

LIQUID BIOPSY

A Public Procurement project for the Andalusian Health Service that consists of the development of a diagnostic kit prototype for the identification and characterization of biomarkers in blood (CTCs and ctDNA) in an automated and simultaneous way. Its aim is to reach diagnosis early, as well as personalize and monitor the treatment of cancer patients affected by early-stage and metastatic breast and colon solid tumors.

OncohematoDx

The objective of this project is the development of an analysis service based on NGS technologies that includes predictive biomarkers for the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients who are candidates for treatment with this type of therapy. This project has been co-financed by CDTI and ERDF funds.

MEGAPIPELINE

European project for the development of software applications compatible with ISO/EC 23092 (MPEG-G) that provide compression, storage, transport and manipulation of genomic data. This project has been financed with funds from CDTI and from the contribution of the European Union by the joint research program Eurostars-2 and co-financed by Horizon 2020, the eight Framework Program for Research and Innovation in the European Union.

Atheroclonal

Atheroclonal, developed in collaboration with the CNIC, the IRB and the IGTP under the Strategic Lines call, aims to study somatic mutations and clonal hematopoiesis as risk factors in atherosclerosis. It integrates sequencing and computational biology studies to identify new genes and mutations capable of causing clonal expansion and machine learning models to predict the progression of atherosclerosis. This project is funded by EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

COVID-19

The project carried out by Imegen for the manufacture, validation and placing on the market of new PCR kits for the diagnosis of COVID-19, has received funding from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, within the manufacturing aid program of medical supplies and products considered emergency by the Government in relation to COVID-19.

Inn Medical

The goal of INN-MEDICAL is to design and start manufacturing a machine that integrates nucleic acid extraction and real-time PCR performed in an automated fashion and help improve the response of medical centers, particularly in areas that have shown high potential in the fight against pandemics such as COVID19. This consortium project under the CIEN call is co-financed by CDTI and ERDF funds.

NeumoviralDx

The objective of the project is the development of an RT-PCR kit for rapid and cost-effective simultaneous diagnosis of patients with symptoms consistent with different respiratory diseases. This project has received financing from CDTI funds, under the call for grants for R&D and investment projects to deal with the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

OncoPanel-TMB Plus

The general objective of the project is the research and development of a new comprehensive tool for the management of patients who are candidates for immunotherapy treatment. For this, Imegen proposes the design and validation of a new panel, based on NGS technology, which will include all those predictive biomarkers of immunotherapy efficacy, as well as a set of genes that will allow the selection of the type of treatment in the event that the patient is not suitable for immunotherapy.

The project will be fully executed at the Imegen facilities at C / Catedrático Agustín Escardino 9, 46980, Paterna Valencia. With an execution period that begins on 09/1/2018, and ends on 04/31/2020.
The project has a budget of € 806,814, with CDTI and FEDER co-financing in the form of a € 0.00 credit of 75% of the budget, and a non-reimbursable tranche that amounts to 30% calculated on the financial coverage of the help.

OncoPRECISION

Design and development of an oncological biomarker analysis platform to establish prognosis and response to treatment in advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer. The platform will be a complete solution adapted to the needs of genetic analysis laboratories and hospital centers.

Grants and Research Projects

During the last 10 years Health in Code has been funded with more than five grants from the Spanish Reseach Ministry and several other national institutions; as well as awarded with four different fellowships from entities such as the Spanish Cardiology Society.

At the international level, we have participated in the “Anderson-Fabry Cardiomyopathy European Survey (ACE)”, coordinated by The Heart Hospital (UK, 2008); and within the 7th European framework in the following proyects: INHERITANCE: “Integrated Heart Research In Translational genetics of dilated Cardiomyopathies in Europe”; and BESTAGEING: “Biomarker research Alliance for Diagnosing Heart disease in the Ageing European Population”(2013-2017).

In addition, we are currently involved in the proyect CARDIOBIOME (FEDER-INNTERCONNECTA 2015) aimed at “Design and development of a platform to study microbiome as a biomarker for personalized medicine”.

Conecta Peme 2015 Project co-financed by the ERDF: Analysis, Design and Prototyping of an Intelligent Support System for Clinical Decision-Making in the Field of Cardiology (Dr. MeKnow).

Patents

Health in Code has filed a patent application of a novel method for the characterization of copy number variants (CNVs) and other structural variants that may cause disease.

CNVs and structural variants are mutations that involve loss or gain of genetic material. These mutations are currently detected using techniques such as MLPA, CGH Arrays or SNP Arrays. However, the plain detection is not enough for a proper report of the mutation and makes it difficult to perform segregation studies in relatives.

Health in Code’s patent solves this problem with the development of a simple, economical and fast method that is able to identify the actual boundaries and, if it´s the case, the insertion points of CNVs and structural variants. This will be of great help for the application of genetics in medical practice.

Academic collaborations: UDC-INIBIC

Health in Code has been involved in several training programs associated with the Biomedical Research Institute of A Coruña (INIBIC) and the University of A Coruña (UDC) related to NGS.

In addition, we regulary hold workshops and seminars towards the update and specialization of cardiologists in the application of NGS to inherited CVD and sudden death prevention.