IXICO announces strategic collaboration with leading pharmaceutical company to develop and pilot an adapted version of Assessa® for the clinical management of multiple sclerosis
9 October 2015, IXICO plc (Ticker: IXI) ('IXICO' or the 'Company'), the brain health company, today announces that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with a leading pharmaceutical company and independent expert clinical centres in the management of multiple sclerosis.
Under the terms of the multi-stage collaboration, IXICO will develop an adapted version of Assessa®, its CE marked digital healthcare platform, to assist in the monitoring and management of people receiving approved pharmaceutical treatments for multiple sclerosis ('MS') in the EU and Canada. The project will start in October 2015 and it is anticipated that the digital platform will be deployed in a clinical setting in 2016.
PML
People with MS treated with disease-modifying agents might develop an increased risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), an opportunistic viral infection of the brain that usually leads to death or severe disability. PML has a typical mortality rate of 20-50 percent in the first few months following diagnosis but this does depend on speed of diagnosis, the severity of the underlying disease and treatment received. Those who survive PML can be left with severe neurological disabilities.
Assessa®
Assessa® has been developed using IXICO's digital healthcare technology and combines imaging, demographic, cognitive and functional information to improve the precision of patient stratification, differential diagnosis and predict likely disease progression. To date, it has principally been applied to people living with dementia. Available in both research and medical device forms, Assessa® can support both stratification of patients in clinical trials and diagnosis of disease in the clinic.
Strategic collaboration
Under the terms of this new strategic collaboration, IXICO will develop, validate and pilot an adapted version of Assessa® with leading clinical experts in Europe, specifically to facilitate remote MRI assessment in the monitoring of patients at increased risk of PML.
Assessa® will provide a digital clinical decision support platform to more reliably and effectively offer access to second opinion reading expertise of MRI scans. It will facilitate the remote transfer and storage of MRI scans, clinical data and subsequent diagnosis between the treating physician and the second opinion expert MRI readers. IXICO will be funded to develop, validate and pilot the adapted version of the Assessa® platform in the context of PML suspicion with the intention to roll out and operate the platform internationally thereafter.
Professor Derek Hill, Chief Executive of IXICO commented:
'This is an important strategic opportunity for IXICO in that it represents the first deployment of an adapted version of our Assessa® digital platform to support the safety monitoring of approved pharmaceutical treatments in the important area of multiple sclerosis. We expect this collaboration to make a material contribution to our revenues in the next 12-18 months thereby underpinning the board's confidence in meeting current market expectations.'
John Hall, SVP Commercial Operations added:
'We are delighted that this new collaboration will expand the use of our Assessa® platform into another clinical area alongside currently approved treatments, further extending the reach and application of our technology and expertise.'
Notes to Editors
About IXICO
IXICO, the brain health company, uses its innovative and proprietary digital health technologies to help those involved in researching and treating serious diseases to make rapid, informed decisions targeted at improving patient outcomes. IXICO has significant experience in working with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies supporting clinical studies in the field of neuro-degenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, other causes of dementia and Multiple Sclerosis.
About Assessa®
IXICO's digital healthcare technology which can combine imaging, demographic, cognitive and functional information to improve the precision of patient stratification, differential diagnosis and predict likely disease progression of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. Available in both research and medical device forms, Assessa® can support both stratification of patients in clinical trials and diagnosis of disease in the clinic. In January 2015, IXICO announced its selection as a partner within European Prevention of Alzheimer's dementia Initiative (EPAD), to provide Assessa® to more reliably identify subjects with asymptomatic or early stage Alzheimer's who are most likely to benefit from treatment. In May 2015 IXICO announced the award of an Innovate UK grant to support further development of Assessa® to quantify vascular disease burden in patients with CNS diseases. In June 2015 and recently in August 2015, IXICO announced its selection by a top 15 pharmaceutical company to provide Assessa® to analyse brain MRI images collected from patient's enrolled in clinical trials.
More information is available on www.ixico.com
Enquiries:
IXICO plc |
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Derek Hill, CEO |
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Susan Lowther, CFO |
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Charles Spicer, VP Corporate Development |
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Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker) |
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James Steel |
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Oliver Jackson |
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Daniel Stewart & Company (Joint Broker) |
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Martin Lampshire |
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David Coffman |
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FTI Consulting Limited (Investor Relations) |
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Simon Conway |
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Matthew Moss Mo Noonan |
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